SylarElle: 30 Stories
by E.A. Cooper
Summary: 30 different, un-related stories centering around Sylar and Elle's relationship. Each shows a different view of the relationship, whether it be bruising, Sylar/Elle style, or Gabriel/Elle/Little Noah.
1. Would You Kill For Me?

"Would you kill for me?"

The question is unexpected. So much so, that Elle needs to hear him say it again.

"Would you kill for me?" Noah draws out each word, a serious look on his face.

"Noah," Elle leans down to her son's level, "why would you ask Mommy something like that?"

"Because I want to know," the four-year-old replies, nothing but innocence in his voice.

She would, in a heartbeat, but Elle is throughouly confused. Where could Noah have hear something like that? She asks him.

"The man." Elle's heart rate rises as the panic begins to set in.

"What man, Noah?" She demands.

"I don't know. He doesn't tell me his name." Elle closes her eyes, trying to fend off the hysteria long enough to think rationally.

"You've seen him more than once?" She picks her son up and brings him to the kitchen, setting him on the island.

"Yup," Noah says happily. Elle holds out a cherry popsicle, which Noah eats greedily.

The popsicle is a bribe for Noah to be good and answer all of Elle's questions.

She knows what works with her son.

"Noah, I want you to tell me everything you know about the man."

Noah places a thoughtful hand on his face.

"Well, he has dark hair. Like mine, but wayyyyy darker." A knot grows in the pit of Elle's stomach.

"Go on," she encourages.

"And he has dark eyes. Like mine!" Noah's excitement adds to his mother's paranoia.

"Anything else, Noah?" Elle asks, leaning so they were eye-level.

"He said he loves me. I don't think I was supposed to hear him say that he loved me enough to kill for me."

The last sentence sets Elle into motion. She puts Noah back on the floor.

"Run upstairs and grab your favorite teddy and your favorite jacket from your room. Then go to Mommy's room, and -" Elle stops short when she sees her worst fear.

Sylar.

"That's him, Mommy!"

"Hi there, Elle. Miss me?" Sylar questions. Elle backs away slowly, pushing Noah behind her.

"Noah, run." Sensing that something's wrong, Noah complies, going to the safe spot - through the crawlspace in Elle's closet to the panic room.

"Sylar," Elle growls.

"Long time no see, isn't it?"

"What are you doing here?" A ball of electricity forms in her hand.

Sylar has no other objectives, so gets right to the point. "I love him, Elle. I have a right to see him."

The electricity fizzles out of Elle's hands.

"No, you lost that right when you walked out on us."

"I was scared, Elle."

"You could have come back."

"I tried! You wouldn't let me, remember? Said you deserved more."

Elle's voice lowers to a whisper. "I don't deserve anything, Gabriel. You know that."

"Elle," he coaxes, turning her to face him. "You deserve so much more than you allow yourself to have."

Elle's at a loss for words, so she opts to look around the room.

Gently, Gabriel turns her chin to him. He pushes her lips up, forming a smile on her face. Elle smiles for real, and Gabriel grins back.

"Now that's the happy Elle I want to see."

"Why did you leave Gabriel? I mean, really. I needed you. Noah needed you." Elle questions, smile lost.

"I was still Sylar. And Noah didn't need Sylar, he needed Gabriel. But Sylar's gone now. For good."

Elle's confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean my powers, Elle. The dangerous ones. They're all gone."

Her eyes widen in shock. "What do you still have?"

"Regeneration. But I've picked up a couple others. Helpful ones, ones that you'll like."

"Go on, then," Elle encourages. She's curious to see what he can do.

"Forcefield projection, healing, and teleportation."

"But those are defensive."

"I know."

"So, you're saying you've gone and left yourself with no offensive powers?"

"Pretty much."

"Why?"

"I want to be there for you and our son, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes, Elle."

Elle's silent for a few moments, comtemplating. If he really has gotten rid of his powers, just to be with her and Noah, she might be ready to forgive him. Because she still loves him. She always has. Elle just loves her son more.

Suddenly, an idea pops into her head. She grabs the broken clock from the wall - she kept it there, as a reminder of Gabriel - and sets it on the table in front of him.

"Fix it."

"Elle, I don't-"

There's a plead on Elle's face, so Gabriel drops the rest of his sentence and opens the back of the clock. The mechanisms are so complex, so foreign. He idly wonders if he ever really stopped to look at a clock, or if the power just took over and did all the work for him. Gingerly, Gabriel removes a gear. It's slightly dented and a little charred, probably from being thrown then sparked. Confused, Gabriel sets the piece back and takes out another one. This is more mangled than the first, most likely having taken the blunt of the damage. He sets the piece back in, then stares at the clock, wondering. How in the hell did he ever do this?

"I can't. I don't know how." Gabriel says. He thought he would feel even a twinge of remorse, but he doesn't.

"Oh thank God," Elle says, running to him and hugging him close. She kisses him passionately, then adds, "I missed you so much."

Gabriel smiles. "I bet I missed you more."

And, for the first time in three years, the Gray family spends an evening together, happy. Now the parents know that what they have is special. More special than either of them ever needed.

They know that the world's still a dangerous place, but they hope that, together, they'll be able to keep their son safe.

But nothing is going to keep their Noah safe from Claire Bennet. It's only a matter of time...


	2. Cyclic

They've been here before, Sylar and Elle. Fighting against each other for reasons long forgotten.

It's all very cyclic, Sylar thinks. Talk, fight, not kill, make-up, break-up, repeat.

Of course, sometimes, there are variables.

That's usually where Elle enters the equation. Usually, they'll be fighting when she asks him a question. Sometimes, it's loud, a "Why did you kill me?" type-of-question. Sometimes, it's a quiet whisper from a broken little girl, "I don''t want to fight anymore. Can we stop?" The last question has only ever been asked once before - "Kill me? Please?"

Tonight will be the second time Elle has begged for death.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Sylar," Elle growls. She's finally found him again. This time, he was hiding out in a mostly empty warehouse.

"Elle," he says slowly. He knows she has a ball of electricity behind her back, waiting for him.

They begin to circle one another as she says, "Long time no see."

"I could say the same to you."

"I've been busy. On important missions."

"Elle, I'm hurt. I'm not important?" Sylar mocks.

Elle's eyes flash angerly. "No. You're not."

She fires her first ball of electricity at him, which he expertly dodges.

"You're just a workout," she says.

It's Sylar's turn to grow angry, so he slams some crates into her side.

"Likewise, Love," he calls back to her.

Elle pushes herself up and darts behind one of the crates.

"What are you gonna do now, Babe? That's your only active ability, other than mine."

She knows how to push his buttons.

Sylar is seething where he's standing. Fine. He was going to be easy on her tonight. Not now.

He flings a strand of electricity in her direction, which she dodges by moving to a different crate.

"Now Elle, that wasn't very nice of you," he says, sending a sound wave in her direction.

She sees it coming and dodges behind the next crate. "Damn it," she curses. Elle hates being wrong.

"It also wasn't very correct."

Tired of playing cat and mouse, Elle stands from her hiding spot and hits him with the biggest blast of electricity she can muster. And this time, she doesn't miss.

Elle doesn't allow him the second it takes to regenerate from the ash. She continues to pound him with spark after spark until she is completely worn out.

She falls to the floor, directly across from him, watching, as she waits for him to fully regenerate.

When he does regenerate, and sees her lying on the ground, Sylar's attack plan fades away. He sighs, his shoulders slumping, and stays where is he.

"Is that all?" Elle asks quietly, her breathing heavy.

"Yeah," Sylar nods, "that's all."

"The go ahead."

Sylar tilts his head slightly to the side, confused.

"If that's all, then go ahead and kill me."

Sylar stands, moves next to her, and lays there. He takes her tiny hand in his larger one, and she doesn't protest.

"I'm not going to kill you again, Elle. That's one mistake that I'm never going to repeat."

"Not even if I beg?"

"No."

There's a puase, then Elle smiles as she says, "What if I say I'm bringing peach pie and I bring like, grape instead?"

Sylar laughs. "I might be tempted, but no."

Elle rolls over so she's slightly on top of him. He gently brushes her bangs out of her eyes.

"I don't want this to be like all the other times, Gabriel. I don't want to fight anymore," Elle says.

"So, let's not," he says.

"But what if-"

He silences her with a kiss.

"No. No what ifs. No past. Just here. Now."

Elle smiles, then stands, pulling him up with her.

"Let's go back to my place."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And that's how the cycle was broken.

The fighting didn't end of course, it just became arguments with words, like normal couples.

About four months after their fight at the warehouse, Elle told Gabriel she was pregnant.

They married a few weeks after Elle's announcement, with Elle complaining about how fat she looked the entire time.

Their baby, a boy, Noah arrived on May 21, 2008.

And his parents were never happier.


	3. I'm the Bad Guy

"What do you want, Peter?" Sylar asked, answering his cell phone.

"To help you," he answered sincerely.

"Peter, you're an idiot. Why in the hell would you want to do that? I'm the bad guy, remember?" Sylar replied, pacing around his motel room.

"But that's just it. You don't have to be." Peter was too optimistic for his own damn good.

"And what if I want to be? What if being the bad guy is fun for me?" Sylar asked. It wasn't, not anymore, but Peter didn't need to know that.

"I went to the future, Gabriel-"

"Sylar."

"I saw it. You had a son. You were making him waffles by hand, without abilities. You were living in the Bennets' house in Costa Verde and Noah, your son, kept calling me Uncle Peter."

"What did he look like?" Sylar demanded.

"What?" Peter questioned, startled by the sudden change in his voice.

"The boy, Noah. What'd he look like?"

"Um, he was little, four or five. Brown-eyed, light hair. He looked just like Elle. You were good, for him. Just find something to be good for, Sylar."

"It's too late for that now Peter," Sylar said softly, closing his phone.

His hands sparked and a single tear fell down his cheeck as he repeated, "It's too late."


	4. Slusho Wars!

They sat in the middle of the aisle in a nameless grocery store as Gabriel tended to Elle's damaged leg. With a tender hand, he probed the wound, trying to decipher the location of the bullet. He looked up her, questioning silently.

"Do it," Elle nodded, looking away.

"Wait." Gabriel smiled. He dashed away quickly.

Elle was completely confused. Just where in the hell did he think he was going? He was not going to... Oh, how she loved that man. For in his hand, Gabriel held the most precious thing on this Earth: a large cherry Slush-o, red spoon/straw included.

"Here," he said. He grinned at his girlfriend's reaction.

"You are my favorite. Ever," Elle said with a smile. She grabbed the cup full of sugar from his hand and began to drink thirstily.

Gabriel knelt back to her side, pulling the white cloth away from her leg. He checked quickly - making sure her Slush-o had her thoroughly entertained - before he pulled the bullet out with a pair of tweezers. Elle's leg bled feverishly, but she didn't seem to notice and kept signing her slush-o song (Oh, Slush-o, Slush-o, the king of all things, I adore thee so much-o). Gabriel ripped open a box of the biggest Scooby-Doo band-aids the store offered. He placed one Elle's thigh, then frowned. That wasn't right. He peeled it off and tried again. The process was repeated until Gabriel decided the band-aid was perfectly straight.

"So, how am I doing?" Elle asked, tearing her lips away from her Slush-o. The cherry dye made her lips a deeper shade of red.

"Well," Gabriel said, cleaning up the blood, then sitting next to her. "I don't know."

"I would like another diagnosis, please doctor," Elle said with a giggle. She leaned against him, trailing kisses up his undershirt. Each one left a red mark, decreasing in brightness as she went on. Elle frowned, took a giant gulp of Slush-o, then continued, leaving the brightest mark on Gabriel's lips.

Gabriel simply smiled at her, then reached for her Slush-o.

Quickly, Elle yanked both herself and the Slush-o away from him.

"No. Bad. Mine. Get your own."

"But-"

Elle glared at him.

"Okay," Gabriel said. "I will. And it'll be much better than yours." And, like the mature adult he was, he stuck his tongue out at her.

Elle raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? You don't know that first thing about Slush-omics."

"Slush-omics? Pssh. I'm Sylar. I don't need it." He walked in the direction he had before.

"Oh, no, don't go, I'll miss you and stuff," Elle said flippantly. She rolled her eyes and stood, wobbling a bit on her good leg. She hopped over the the clothes section, an impressive five feet, and threw a pair of black shorts on.

"There you are!" Gabriel said, a slush-o in his hand. "Try this." Elle obliged and frowned, an "Oh, shit" look crossing her face.

"Ha! Mine's better! Take that, sparky!"

Oh, that man was going to die.

"Gabriel Gray," she grumbled. He was instantly humbled. "If want to ever continue what we started at the Canfield house, and I mean ever, you will not use the name 'Sparky' or any variation of it in my presence again. Understood?"

He nodded dumbly.

"Good." Elle smiled. "Now let's get out of here." She started walking toward the exit.

"Ya know," Gabriel called. "That 'ever' might be a little more fun if you were sticky."

"Sticky? What the hell are you talking about?"

"This!" Gabriel obviously had a death wish, as he dumped a good fourth of his Slush-o on Elle's head. He smartly hid afterward.

Elle's stood still, letting the fury set in.

"Fine," she hissed quietly.

A devilish smile hit Elle's face as she yelled, "1, 2, 3, 4, I delcare a Slush-o war!"


	5. No Regrets

"I betrayed you. You became Sylar because of me," Elle growled. She moved across the room, facing away from him, and crossed her arms over her stomach. She was trying to block herself off from Gabriel.

And this time, he wasn't going to let her.

"Elle," he said gently. Gabriel moved to where she was standing and carefully turned her to face him. "It's no one's fault but mine."

"You say that now. But one day, I know you're just going to come home and be pissed off about how I forced you into something you're not. And then you'll say I forced you to become Gabriel again, or Noah forced you to become Gabriel again, and Sylar won't be too happy about that. So, he'll kill us both."

"I promise I would never do that." Truthfully, her words stung him, because he often worried that the same scenario would happen someday. But Gabriel was more than determined not to let it.

"Yes you would, Gabriel! Because it's what we do. I hurt you, then you hurt me back"

"Elle, I-"

"It's not safe for Noah, Gabriel."

"Listen! I am a good father, Elle. I love our son." His eyes were so filled with malice, that Elle had to take a step back out of fear. "What about you? Aren't you a little... unfit to be a parent? Being a sociopath, and all."

Elle's eyes narrowed to slits. "Get out."

Gabriel was visibly taken aback. "What? What about Noah?"

"He can say goodbye to you when he gets home from school. Go."

"But Elle-"

"There's a hotel a couple miles from here. Stay there for the night, I need some time to think," Elle said, putting a hand on her forehead.

"But-"

Elle's hand fell from her forehead as she looked up at Gabriel intensely. "Go."

The intense look on Elle's face combined with the knowledge of how she thought made it easy for Gabriel to let the matter drop.

"I'll uh, I'll just go pack a few of my things," he said quietly.

Elle nodded, "Yeah, you'd better do that."

He sighed, then made his way to the staircase.

Elle leaned against her kitchen counter She didn't regret what she'd just done. She would do anything for her baby, even if it caused her misery.

No, Elle Gray, never had any regrets.


	6. Someone Who Cares

"You're a monster," Elle growled, sending Gabriel a sharp blast of electricity. He writhed in pain, but remained silent.

Panting, he growled in response, "You're a sociopath. And you know what? No one gives a damn about you, Elle. About either of us."

"Shut up."

"Not Angela. Not pretty little Peter Petrelli."

"Shut. Up."

"Not Noah Bennet," he continued, smirk growing on his face. "Not even your Daddy."

The tears fell freely down Elle's face, but she paid them no heed as she electrocuted Gabriel with everything she could muster.

"My father loved me," she said, a crack in her voice.

When she saw that Sylar had fully rematerialized, she shocked him again.

"He sure as hell cared about me."

This time, she allowed Sylar to pull himself together and stand.

"Elle," he said condescendingly.

Elle shocked him, lighter than she had before. "No. Wrong. I get to be condescending. Not you."

Sylar glared at her. "Fine," he growled, "He didn't care Elle. If he did... if anybody, anybody at all, cared, than we'd be different."

For a minute, he looked like the Gabriel she once knew. Quickly, Elle shook that thought from her head.

He continued, "But you're just the sociopath."

Elle smirked at him, "And you're just the monster."

Both Gabriel's voice and eyes softened, "Would a monster let you go?"

Elle shook her head meekly.

"Go," he nodded toward the door. "Now."

Elle ran out the door with a promise.

"I will find you, Gabriel. I'll show you someone who cares."


	7. At the Hair Dresser's

"Damn it," Sylar muttered. Not for first time that morning. Or the second, or the third, or the fourth. The number was more than likely near fifteen, but no one really knew for sure.

"Gabriel, what the hel- ck," Elle finished lamely. She sometimes forgot they had a kid with them now.

"My hair! It won't stay beautiful like it's supposed to!" Gabriel whined. His whining was worse than Elle's and Luke's combined. And that was saying something.

"That's why you should go to the hair dresser. Get it cut or something." She was not purposely leaving out said hairdresser's special ability. Not at all. At all. (Which wasn't secret code, in Elle world, for "the hairdresser has a super-cool ability that I think you should take.")

"No," he huffed. "It. Does. Not. Need. To. Be. Cut." Although he'd said same that same sentence hundreds of times, Gabriel still felt the need to punctuate every word.

Meanwhile, Luke, the intelligent boy that he was, was playing Pac Man on Elle's cell phone.

"Come on, Pac-y. You can do it," he encouraged. Suddenly, Elle's phone vibrated. Scared for his life, Luke dropped the phone to the floor, and jumped up on the couch.

Realising it was only a text, he got down from the couch, embarrassment written clearly on his face, and picked it up. Luke glanced into the doorway that led into... Gabriel?... Sylar?... Gablar. He glanced through the doorway that led into Gablar and Elle's room. Seeing that they were occupied (Elle was chasing him around the room with a pair of scissors), Luke felt it safe enough to check Elle's message.

He flipped open the phone, wishing he had his iPhone that his great-Aunt had given him for his birthday, and looked at the message. It read: _"I'm ready when the three of you are". _The number was anonymous.

Thoroughly confused, the teenager decided to venture into the war-zone.

"Um, Elle?" Luke questioned, knocking lightly on their open door. Startled, she dropped her scissors on the bed and looked to the doorway.

"Yeah?" She questioned. However, that was the only thing she managed to get out before Gabriel tackled her. "Gabriel!" she said, smacking him lightly. When he didn't let up, she tried again. "Gabriel Gray!" Annoyed, she sparked him lightly. Gabriel sat up, grabbing his arm where her spark had hit. "Shut up. The kid's got something to say. Yes, Luke?"

Luke shook his head. These two were just too weird. "Um, you got a text message. It's anonymous."

Elle's eyes widened, and she dashed to her phone, scanning over the text message quickly. "Shit," she mumbled, before taking off into the laundry room.

The boys looked at one another, one eyebrow raised on each face. They shrugged and followed after her.

Elle was hurriedly rushing through the clean clothes that were hanging, trying to decide the best shirt. She was already wearing her favorite pair of dark skinny jeans, but she couldn't decide whether to wear the electric blue tank-top with the navy blue sweater, or the purple tank-top with the black half-sweater. She chose the former.

"Well?" Elle asked, turning to Gabriel and Luke. "Why aren't you getting ready?"

Gabriel patted his clothes down, and Luke ran a hand through his hair. "Ready!" they said, in unison.

Elle huffed and grabbed the keys from Gabriel's pants pocket. "Let's go."

They were only in the car for ten minutes when they arrived at their destination. Gabriel and Luke were both wearing blindfolds. Gabriel, because it was a surprise for him. And Luke, because he was a little snitch. She watched as they attempted to pull the cloth from their head.

"No. Bad. Luke, I swear to God, if you take off that blindfold, I will ground you from your video games, and the computer, and... whatever else it is you like - yeah, that's right, I said I'd ground you, and, yes, in case you were wondering, it does feel wonderful - and Gabriel, if you take off your blindfold, you will have a seriously dull nightlife." The aforementioned parties gulped.

"Yes, Elle," they said dejectedly. Elle grinned, then got out of the car to lead the boys in.

"Riccardo!" She called, setting Luke and Gabriel into chairs. Was that a hair dryer they heard?

"Thank goodness you're here, Mrs. Elle. I've only got one more customer before the place is closed, then we can start on... Er, what did you say his name was?"

"I didn't. He doesn't want you to know. And you're working on someone else first. That boy over there," Elle pointed to Luke, "you're fixing him first. He's our... son. You can start with him now, but know that he is, under no circumstance, allowed to remove the blindfold. Until you're done cutting, that is."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Elle," Riccardo said, scurrying over to a stand. Oh, this was going to be good.

"Luke, dear!" Elle said, helping the boy to stand. She led him over to Riccardo, whispering to him all the while. "You are going to hear some noises. Ignore them. When you are finished, you are not to tell Gabriel what has happened. And, if you so much as touch that blindfold, you will regret it. Because, except for food, your room, and the bathroom, you will be cut-off from everything. And, trust me, I've been there. It's not fun. Do you understand?" She was liking this "parent" thing.

"Yes, Ma'am," Luke said. Damn. He wanted that blindfold off sooooo badly.

While Riccardo worked on Luke, Elle and Gabriel sat next to each other in silence. The last costumer had already left, and Elle had discreetly locked the door behind her. She'd closed the blinds too, in case things got ugly. In fact, Elle was hoping they did.

"Gabriel," she whispered to him, watching Luke carefully.

"Elle? Where in the hell are we? If we're at a hair salon, Elle, I-"

"We are. But we're not here for hair. While, we are, but not in the way you think."

Had the blindfold been off, Gabriel would have given her an innocent look. "Hair sex?"

Elle sighed, rolling her eyes simultaneously."We're not here to get your hair cut," she clarified. "Hair sex? Really?"

He only shrugged in response.

"We are here because this man has an ability, and I think you're gonna like it."

Gabriel smiled. "And what might that be?"

"Gel hands."

Gabriel looked at her, confused. "Gel hands?"

"Yeah. Like, he rubs his hands together or something, and bam! Hair gel appears."

"You lie." He was dumbfounded.

"So do you," Elle countered.

"So... so, he just rubs.. and bam?" Gabriel questioned semi-coherently.

"Mhm."

Gabriel grinned like a cheshire cat. "Sweeeeeeet!" he shouted, causing both the blindfolded Luke and the only partially blind Riccardo to look his way. "Sorry," he murmured, settling down.

"I'll assume that's why it's dark in here?"

"Mhm!" Giddily, Elle clapped her hands together.

"Ah, here we go... Done!" Riccardo said.

Luke's hair actually looked presentable. It was almost a shame to kill Riccardo. But for Gabriel's hair to be perfectly gelled, all the time, without having to buy a bottle of hair gel a day? Totally worth the loss.

"Go ahead, pull the blindfold off, Luke," Elle said, walking over to him. "I suppose you can too Gabriel."

"What do you think?" she asked, putting her hands on Luke's shoulders.

"Um, it's okay, I guess. My hair's never really been this short." He ran a hand through it.

"Well, it's Gabriel's turn, now. Why don't we get some ice cream from the place next door, and let Gabriel have his turn?"

"Sure," Luke shrugged. He walked outside and stood, waiting for Elle. "Have fun. I'm excited for this one," Elle said to Gabriel, as she left the building.

When she met up with Luke, he was already in line for his ice cream.

"I really think I like this haircut. Thanks, Elle," he said.

Elle smiled, happy that he was happy. "Good, I'm glad. I like it too."

They ordered three ice cream cones - one vanilla, for Luke, one triple chocolate fudge waffle cone with extra rainbow sprinkles and two cherries on top, for Elle, and one peach, for Gabriel - then walked back down to the front of the hair salon.

They sat down on the windowsill of the building, waiting.

Luke leaned forward suddenly. He swore he could hear screaming. Sylar must be killing the hair dresser. He looked over to Elle, who didn't seem to hear anything, the leaned back against the windowsill. More yelling. Was that a chainsaw? No, a hair dryer. Now a chainsaw. Boiling water? Laughing. A hammer hitting metal. A horse? What the hell was going on in there?

Elle still ignored the commotion from the store. Well, whatever. Luke didn't care if Sylar the hairdresser. Riccardo's hands were too rough anyway.

Ten minutes and two and a half ice creams later - Luke and Elle had both finished theirs, and Elle had eaten half of Gabriel's - Gablar emerged from the store. Not only were his new clothes spotless, his hair was perfectly gelled.

Elle and Luke stood there in awe. Luke didn't even feel worthy of being in the presence of such fantastic hair.

"Um, wh-.. wow," Elle managed to stammer out.

"Elle, Luke," Gabriel said, placing his arms around their shoulders. He grabbed his ice cream from Elle. "Today is a good day."

They nodded.

"We need to celebrate. Let's go somewhere."

"Like Hawaii?" Luke asked. He'd always wanted to go there. Elle nodded enthusiastically.

Gabriel looked back and forth from Elle to Luke.

"Okay, then. Hawaii it is. But my hair and I get to pick the hotel," Gabriel said with a smile.

"Deal!" Elle and Luke giggled.

"First one to the van gets to pick the first activity!" Gabriel called. Elle and Luke dashed to the car. Elle's company training came in handy, and she beat the boy by a landslide. As she hopped in the passenger seat, she grinned triumphantly.

Yes, this definitely was a good day for the Gray-Bishop-Campbell clan.


	8. The Monster in the Other Room

Elle learned it at a young age.

One day, when she was eight, her father sat her down to explain.

"We're not like them," he said. The Normals. Like Glasses.

Elle already knew that of course, and told him as much.

"I coulda told you that."

Bob grabbed his daughter's arms and dragged her into the Level 5 hallway. He turned to her, a desperate look in his eyes, hands roughly gripping her arms. He pointed at the prisoners.

"But you're not like them either."

Elle wasn't so sure.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Virginia Gray always told her son that he was special, destined for greatness.

"You're not like them. You have a purpose in this life," she said.

The had the same conversation, over and over and over again, until the words were drilled in Gabriel's young mind.

"This family. We are not like them."

Every time his mother said that, Gabriel made the same wish - that they could be like the rest of them. He didn't want to be special, didn't want to be different.

He just wanted to be plain old Gabriel Gray, the watchmaker's son.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elle is standing in a hallway, not all that dissimilar from the one her father dragged in her into all those years ago. But she's smarter now. She knows her father wasn't right about her. Because Elle's just like those prisoners on the big, bad level five - uncontrollable and reckless with a desire to kill.

As she bangs her purposely bangs her head on the wall, knowing that Gabriel can hear her, Elle wishes, not for the first time, that she was normal.

Like Glasses.

Able to have a family that she cares for.

A normal family, with a kid or two and a dog. She wants a happy family, one that does something special together every once in a while.

And she wants it all with the monster in the other room.

Elle thinks of Lyle. She's only met him a few times, but he was a quick thinker. She'd want her son to be like that.

She thinks next of Cla- The Cheerleader. A little too whiny sometimes, but a loving, fierce daughter. And although she does have a mostly hate-filled relationship with the girl, Elle wishes that someday, she'll have a daughter just like her.

_"Sandra and Bennet have done a good job," _Elle muses. _"Maybe Gabriel and I..." __  
_  
But then rational thought returns to her. And she knows the life she wishes for can only ever be a fantasy.

"Because," she whispers, turning toward the room Gabriel's in.

"We're not like them."


	9. Bob's Broken Little Girl

"If that's how you feel… Here." Noah threw Elle her jacket. "Go on," he urged.

Elle was shocked. She knew she couldn't be alone, with no money, in the middle of New York City.

"New York City," he said, an air of grandeur about him.

"You could… I don't know, become a waitress," Bennett added.

Elle contemplated this seriously. If she chose this, saving Gabriel Gray, she might never see her Daddy again. And, no matter how mean he could be, Elle loved her Daddy. She wouldn't want to disappoint him and this "stunt" definitely would.

But, with Gabriel, she could be her own person. She could do whatever she wanted, go wherever she wanted. If Elle wanted to go the movies to see a ridiculous chick flick and throw tons of popcorn at the screen, she could. They'd probably kick her out, but then she'd be able to say that she was kicked out of the movies before.

Of course, there was the tiny matter of having a place to live. The only person Elle knew in New York City was Gabriel. She didn't think he would mind living with her – she definitely wouldn't mind living with him – but that would mean she'd have to tell him everything. That was something she was **not **looking forward to.

Her head told her the smart thing to do would be to stay with Noah. Her heart screamed in opposition.

And, for once, she decided to listen to it.

"Fine," Elle said. "Give my regards to my father."

With that, Elle Bishop walked away, unsure of her destination, but confidant nonetheless.

"You'll be back soon, Elle. You can't live by yourself. You don't know how," Glasses called after her.

Elle ignored him and continued walking.

"Damn it." Noah banged his head against the door of the van. Repeatedly.

This was not supposed to happen. Elle was supposed to chose the company over Gabriel Gray. Noah was supposed to convince her to do just that. But he didn't; he couldn't.

Bob was going to kill him.

"Elle!" He called again, running after her this time. He quickly caught up to her, and grab hers arms, spinning her to face him.

"What?" she hissed, looking anywhere but at him.

"Elle, this is your father's doing. He wants to see how far this man can be pushed. I agree with you."

Elle's eyes snapped to his. "You agree with me?"

Noah's grip on her arms loosened and his shoulders fell in relief. "Yes, Elle. I agree with you. I'm sorry I led you to believe it was me, but you wouldn't have listened as well if these orders had come from him."

Her eyes narrowed yet again. "Make it up to me."

Bennet's head titled slightly, out of confusion. "Okay…." He said slowly.

"Help me kill my father."

"Elle…"

"No! Better yet, kill him for me. I'm going to go through with this. I'm sick of this company's orders, through with their tests. Consider this my resignation." Elle walked away again.

"Elle," HRG called softly. She walked back to him slowly.

"Take this," he handed her a few hundreds from his wallet. "Send me your address when you find somewhere to live. I'll uh, I'll try to help when I can."

"Thanks, Noah. I appreciate this," Elle said, just as quietly. She began to walk away for the third time.

"Elle," Noah called again. This time, she simply turned to hi.

"Tell him everything."

Elle smiled, thoughts of Gabriel filling her mind. "I was planning on it."

"Take care, Elle."

"You too."

Noah smiled as the girl he had occasionally thought of as a daughter ran back into Gabriel's apartment.

"Let's see how this will go over with Bob," he muttered.

Noah turned back to the van and drove away, ready to face whatever consequence came from freeing Bob's broken little girl.


	10. Wait and See

Elle pops up in Sylar's life increasingly often. He'll watch, forzen in palce, as she does simple things - brushes her hair, watches television, drinks a cherry red Slush-o - chatting endlessly all the while.

He wants to hate it. He wants to hate her.

But he can't. And he knows it.

His life becomes a game. On the good days, a game of cat and mouse, between killer and victim.

On most days, it's wait and see.

He waits for her to show up somewhere.

Maybe he sees her at his favorite diner. Maybe she puts a hand on his naked chest while he showers.

Most often, he sees her in his dreams. On a beach.

With blooding dripping off of her forehead.

Every time he sees her, she says something different. _"I hate you, Gabriel" "You miss me" "Think of what we could have had"_ and _"I was pregnant,"_ were among the most common of Elle's sayings.

The last part of her musings is the most painful. Because it could have been true.

And he wanted it. After all these months, deep down, he still wants it.

So, he decides he going to savor every moment he has with Elle, even though he knows she's not there.

Because now, all he has left is a vision.

And Gabriel's pretty content to pretend to have his Elle back.


	11. Good Enough For Him

"Ow!" Gabriel looked curiously at the bathroom door.

"Fuck, this hurts." He placed his newspaper on the coffee table in front of him and stood.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." Gabriel walked to the door and knocked tentatively.

"Elle, are you okay in there?"

"Just peachy," she grumbled back.

Gabriel's eyebrows scrunched together as he gently pushed the door open.

Elle was sitting on the sink counter, looking into the mirror. There were tears pouring down her face and white patches on her eyebrows.

"Um, Elle, love... what're you... watcha doing?"

"Waxing," Elle answered simply. She began to rip the patches off.

"Ow." Gabriel flinched for her. What the hell kind of torture was that?

"I see that. Why?"

Elle looked at him dumbfoundedly. "To look good," she answered in a "duh" tone of voice.

Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Elle," he said, crossing to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. "You already look good."

"You have to say that, you love me." Elle began to play with the hair on the back of his neck.

Suddenly, she stopped and looked him directly in the eyes.

"You," she said, "need a haircut. Oh! I can do that for you!"

"I don't know..."

"But it'll be fun!" Elle pouted.

Gabriel looked at her and rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he sighed.

Twenty minutes later, an ice pack, and four Slush-o's later, Elle kneeled on their motel bed behind Gabriel, preparing to cut his hair.

"Elle, I'm not so sure about...." He trailed off when she pointed the scissors at the nape of his neck.

"Careful," she whispered into his ear, "I have a pair of scissors in my hands. They might," she knicked his neck lightly, "slip."

Gabriel gulped and wisely shut-up.

To keep him pre-occupied, Elle decided to be kind and let him watch "The Dark Knight". Secretly, she wanted to watch it as well, but if he knew that, Gabriel would make them watch that instead of "The Breakfast Club" on their movie nights. And that would really suck. Like, a lot.

Elle ran her hands through Gabriel's hair, snipping where she deemed it too long.

Meanwhile, Gabriel drank his second Slush-o (Elle had gotten him addicted to the things) and stared at the T.V. screen. He was only slightly aware of the situation around him, and he knew that, that was what Elle had intended. He'd have to keep that tactic in mind for her.

Elle would have happily announced "Done!" when she finished cutting his hair, but he shushed her before she got the chance.

Cursing herself for putting in such a long movie, Elle went to check her eyebrows. They looked fine, except for the red spots where the hair had been. Quietly, she wet a cold washcloth and placed it over her forehead. Elle walked back to the bed, cloth over her head. She could see Gabriel chuckle at the way she looked, so she sent him a small spark to remind him to be quiet.

When the movie was over, Gabriel laid down next to a sleeping Elle. He removed the towel from her head and gently kissed the red lines.

"You're my Rachel Dawes," he whispered. "I'd do anything just to keep you safe."

For that moment, however, Gabriel settled on laying next to her, protecting her while she slept.

And that was good enough for him.


	12. The Suitcase

"Elle," Gabriel pleaded. "Tell me you love me."

She faltered briefly, but continued shoving things in her suitcase.

"Even if it's not true?" She asked, pausing.

"Isn't?" Gabriel asked, despair filling his chocolate eyes.

Elle turned away, a sad, angry electricity filling her bones.

"So, you wouldn't care if... if I stabbed myself?"

"You're indestructible, dumbass," Elle muttered. She rustled some clothes around the dresser drawer before plopping them into the suitcase in a bundle.

"Not at the base of the neck." He held a knife (Where had that come from?) at the base of his skull.

Her eyes snapped to his.

"You wouldn't."

"Wanna bet? It's over for me now, Elle. Don't you get that?" He set the knife down and Elle breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.

"What makes you think it's any easier on me, Gabriel? He was my son too."

"But you weren't the one who let him die. You don't have to hate yourself."

Elle's eyes softened and she could feel the electricity fizzle away, the anger leaving with it.

"Neither do you. It was Knox's fault, you know that as well as I do."

"Then why do you blame me? Why won't you look at me anymore?"

"I-" Elle was at a loss for words. Damn him and his damn perceptiveness.

"Why don't you love me?"

"Because!" She shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

"Because he was you. Every time I look at you, I see him. I can't take the torture anymore, Gabriel. It's not fair. I don't deserve it, not anymore." She paused, wiping the tears from her eyes, then continued softly.

"And neither do you. You need to stop living in pain. We both do."

"You want me to stop living in pain?" He leaned against the bed, closer to Elle. "Help me."

Elle was silent for some time.

"I can't. I can barely look at you, Gabriel."

The two stood there, the suitcase lying on the bed between them. No words exchanged, only guilty glances.

"Fine. There's obviously nothing left for me here," Gabriel said, teleporting away.

"Gabriel!" The call died on Elle's lips as she realized he was gone.

"Damn it." She punched the wall, then waved her hand back and forth, as if to shake off the pain. She wished the rest of it could be expelled the same way.

With a deep sigh, Elle shut her suitcase, and walked out of the room.

The tiny apartment was completely cleaned out in a few days, save for a slightly burnt kitchen waffle-maker - a reminder of that tragic day in Costa Verde, when Noah Gray was murdered, his parents' souls going with him.

Neither parent returned to that apartment. They didn't return to Costa Verde, near again neared California.

Elle never went back to the United States. She lived out the rest of her days in Paris, avoiding any reminder of her previous life. She died at the young age of 34. The few friends she had swore it was of a broken heart.

Gabriel went back to his apartment in Queens and burnt it down. That was where it all started - where he first met Elle - so the building burned, like his relationship with Elle, like the body of his son.

After that, he became nomadic, moving every couple of months. Sometimes to look for Claire (she was the only murderer who had yet to die), sometimes because he had been recognized. More often that not, he moved because something in the last town had reminded him of Noah.

He tried to kill himself quite a few times. Every time, though, a line from one of his favorite plays, Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, rang through his head:

_"Cowards die many time before their deaths'__  
__The valiant never taste of death but once" ___

It stopped him every time.

He killed Claire in the year 2214, long after everyone else he ever knew, Peter included, had died. The world had changed greatly, but he paid very little notice.

On September 24, 2648, while hunting for food on a South American plateau, Gabriel was stabbed in the back of the head by a cannibal. He reached to the base of his skull to pull the spear out, brought his hand back to the front, and noticed blood. He collapsed on his stomach quickly, watching the blood pool around him. Gabriel Gray died with a smile on his face.

Finally, he felt at peace.


	13. Little Sparks of Electricity

**A/N:** Many, many thanks to all who have reviewed so far, especially Lara-Van. I do already have all of these stories written, but I'll see what I can do with your idea, 'cause I like it. And sundaes. I like those too.

* * *

He called her.

It had been exactly six months, eight days, 42 minutes, and thirteen seconds - now fourteen - since Elle and Gabriel had last seen each other. Since they'd betrayed each other - hurt each other.

Although he'd thought of her constantly, his Angel With a Broken Watch, Gabriel had not attempted to contact Elle. The hurt was still too fresh for him to try to call her.

But Gabriel had no one else to turn to, and he wasn't about to let himself blow up half of New York.

"Don't hang up," he pleaded into the payphone.

Her head screamed for her to hang up on him, to ignore the killer's pleas, but a part of her, however small, still loved the monster.

"What do you want, Sylar?" Elle growled.

"Just to talk. I need... I could use your help, Elle. Please?" He desperate, and she knew it.

"Fine. I'll meet you at Sally's Diner, Chestnut Street in Hartsdale. 2:30." If Elle was going to agree to this, it was going to be on her terms.

"And bring money," she added. "You're buying me a Slush-o."

Gabriel happily acquiesced, and arrived at the diner at 2:20. It was when he sat down that Gabriel first realised he knew nothing about Elle.

And she knew everything about him.

Only slightly more apprehensive than he had previously been, Gabriel bought two large cherry Slush-o's and sat down to wait.

Elle stumbled in at 2:37 and spotted Gabriel in the corner. He looked only slightly dark and ominous in his all-black attire. She slid into the seat across from him and wordlessly sipped on her Slush-o.

"Hey," Gabriel began, staring into his own Slush-o.

"Hey," Elle mumbled back.

The situation was rather awkward for both parties.

"Elle," Gabriel began, looking her in the eyes, "I need your help."

"What the hell do you possibly need me for, Sylar?" Elle hissed back.

"I... I think I'm gonna blow up New York City." He looked back down into his Slush-o.

"I know all about that. You're not going to blow up New York. Pet-... someone else is."

"Elle, I know you all think it's Peter." Gabriel looked up at her.

"And I know that you're wrong."

Elle sighed. This was not what she needed today. A nice manicure and a kill or two, sure, but not this; not him.

"What makes you so sure you're the bomb?"

"I, I don't know, really. I painted it. And then I was sure it was me."

Elle raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

"You painted it."

"Yeah, I painted it. With Issac's power."

Elle inhaled, an understanding coming to her face.

"So, you did kill him."

"That company of your's doesn't know too much, do they?"

"You could say that." In truth, the company knew very much about Sylar, they just weren't telling her.

They were silent for a while before Gabriel spoke again.

"Elle," he grabbed her free hand, "I want to run. And I want you to come with me."

"Wha- what?"

"C'mon, Elle. Let's ditch them all. Peter, Suresh, The Comapny, all of them."

"Gabriel, I don't-"

His eyes took on a desperate look as Elle's began to widen in fear and surprise.

"We can go away, together. have a normal life, with all the peach pie, ziti, and cherry Slush-o's we want."

Elle thought about it. She really wanted to up and go with him, but what if it was just a trick? He'd killed that Trevor kid pretty quickly. What was stopping him from killing her?

"I can't," she whispered ferociously, making her way out the door.

Gabriel sighed, and rested his head on his arms. He should have excepted this, should have-

"Why'd you do it?" Suddenly Elle was standing next to him. Her voice was at a near-hysteria level and tears were rolling down her face.

"You didn't have to kill him. It was all a test! If you had passed, we could have been happy. Together."

Gabriel pulled Elle down next to him, and hugged her close.

"I'm sorry, Elle. I'm so sorry."

He held her in his arms, helping to calm her, taking in the little sparks of electricity without a sound. They hurt a bit, but Gabriel was able to ignore them in favor of the distraught girl he held.

After a few minutes, the sparks and the sobs got fewer and farther between. Eventually, they subsided altogether.

Elle pulled away, and looked at him. She ran her hand down his face, a wide-eyed wonder splayed across her features. When she got to his lips, Gabriel turned his head and kissed her palm.

"I'm planning on visiting my mother after this. Come with me?"

Elle paused.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Gabriel questioned.

"Yeah, okay, let's go to your Mom's." Elle smiled.

They stood, and hand in hand, made their way to Gabriel's car.

"Oh," Elle said, "I almost forgot." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She grabbed a pen from Gabriel's shirt pocket and scribbled something on it.

"If you really think you're going to blow-up the city, he'll help." She folded the paper into his hands.

Gabriel unfolded it and looked at the name. Claude Rains. Didn't he know that name?

"Gabriel!" Elle pushed him behind a van. The paper lay forgotten on the ground.

"You have to go. Now," she commanded.

"What? Why?"

"My father. He runs the company. He wants you dead. And he's here." She glanced over at her car, where Bob was standing.

Gabriel looked in the direction of Elle's stare. He gently turned her head so she was looking at him.

"Elle, come with me. We can run away, be safe from people like him."

Elle grabbed his arms.

"Please, Gabriel. Go. I can't lose you." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Not again."

And in that moment, Gabriel realised that Elle was just as broken as he was.

He kissed her. Hard and quick, but full of passion.

"I'll come back for you."

"You'd better." With that, Gabriel Gray hopped in his car and sped off.

Elle took a few deeps breaths, trying to compose herself before she darted over to her father.

"Hi Daddy," she said, trying her best to be chipper.

"Elle, who were you talking to?" Bob questioned.

"No one, it was-"

"Don't lie to me, Elle."

"I'm not. I promise, Daddy."

Bob gave her a reproachful look. He knew better than to trust his daughter. She was, after all, a lying sociopath.

"Okay. Why don't we go home?"

Elle smiled at her Daddy, figuring he'd believed her.

When she turned away, Bob pulled out his phone.

"Get me the Haitian. I've got a problem that needs to be taken care of."

Elle would never remember the night Gabriel stole back her heart.


	14. Unintended

He's here, somewhere.

You know he is, waiting for you.

This is your moment. Your time to kill him. To take revenge for all the innocent people he murdered.

Yourself included.

You wait, hiding in plain sight. Because you know how he thinks, know he won't bother to look that closely.

He thinks he's invincible. The rest think so too.

But you know better, know his weaknesses.

Your son, for example. The one you left him with all those years ago. He's Sylar's biggest weakness.

Noah, named after the only real father you ever had. The man Sylar murdered.

Noah currently sits under your desk, playing with a toy car. You're posing as a secretary.

He looks up at you, curiosity filling his brown eyes. He recognizes you, you can tell. You haven't seen him since the day you gave birth to him, but he recognizes you.

"You're a friend of Daddy's, right?" he asks. Oh, if he only knew.

"Yeah," you murmur conspicuously, "something like that."

His head tilts to the side, much like Gabriel's used to.

"Have you come to my house before?" Your son is smart, and you wonder if it's because of an ability. You wonder if he had never met his father, would he be the same boy? Probably not.

"I have. Not in a long time."

"Oh," Noah looks dejected, and you almost feel bad. "Did you know my Mommy?"

You chuckle. Oh, Noah.

"I know your mother." You feel like you should say something, justify why you left, to the boy who doesn't know who you are. But you don't know what to say, so choose to look back over the crowded room.

Noah tugs on your pant-leg gently. "Is she pretty?"

You smile. "She doesn't think so."

Noah's tiny face falters for a moment, but when he looks back up at you, you can see the same fierce determination that you so often wear.

"Daddy doesn't talk about her. It makes me mad sometimes."

"Does it? Make you mad, I mean?" You ask.

He nods, and you respond with a devilish smile saying, "I'll kill daddy for you."

He draws back into the desk, eyes widening in fear. Crap. This isn't what you intended. Because, no matter what, he is still your son. Your flesh and blood. And his pain makes you feel pain.

It's an interesting feeling, pain. It's been so long since you felt it. You've become good at blocking it out, feeling nothing. And then your son brought the pain back.

"Noah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

His face is still skeptic, and you can't stand it. So, you make a decision that you know will alter your course forever.

"I'm not going to kill your father. I..." You sigh and bite your nail, unsure of what you're about to do.

"Noah." He scrambles closer to you."I, um, I-I... Remember how I, how I said I know your Mommy."

He nods and you take his hands in yours.

"I... I am your Mommy."

His little eyebrow quirks. "You're my mommy."

You nod, and look up to scan the room once again. You sense something. You can't tell what, but it's there.

"You don't look like the picture." He hands you a picture of yourself from before. Before you died.

"I know. But I decided to go for a different style."

There he is. Sylar, exiting the elevator, like a normal person.

"Noah," you warn. "Get back under the desk, and don't make a sound, okay?"

He nods, and crawls back into his hiding place. Meanwhile, Sylar makes his way to your desk.

"Do you have any letters for me?" he asks. He hasn't looked at you, and you think that's probably a good thing.

"No," you say back. This man looks just like Gabriel. No, that's a lie. He looks like a mixture of himself. All of the good things from both personalities.

Sylar looks at you then. "You're lying."  
_  
__"Shit. Poor Sue Landers," _you think. Because you did have a letter for him, you just didn't intend on giving it to him anymore. Your hand wobbles slightly as you reach for the letter, hidden inside your coat pocket.

You notice the strange look Sylar's giving you as you hand it to him. "Sir," you question, "is there a problem?"

His eyebrows draw together in confusion, but he waves it off. "No, no problem."

You check to make sure he's gone from the building before allowing Noah to come out of his hiding place.

"Was that Daddy?" he asks you.

"No," you smile, "it was a very bad man. I'm gonna take you away from the bad man, okay, Noah?"

He places his tiny hand in yours, and you can't help thinking how right this feels. How maybe you made the wrong choice, leaving Noah with Gabriel.

"Okay, Mommy," he says, smiling.

You leave hand-in-hand, content with your decision. This might not have been what you originally came for, but its turned out to be so much better.


	15. Home Is Where the Heart Is

**A/N:** Gah! Halfway through! And here I thought I'd be posting these forever. Does this mean I'm gonna have to write more? Well... that can most certainly be arranged.

Special thanks to, once again, Lara-Van.

* * *

Sometimes, I can't sleep at night.

I miss the quiet hum that was your gentle snoring. It always helped me nod off to sleep. Because I knew that you wouldn't let anything happen to me, ever. It was comforting. Safe.

But I left you. You and Noah. For this.

I left my family, and our beautiful, spacious home, for a life I never wanted. Waking up in my dreary, one room apartment, going to work. Bagging, tagging, and coming home..

No. Not home.

You know, I finally understand that saying now. _Home is where the heart is._ It's true. My home is in Costa Verde, with you and our son. Not here. Not New York. I've never had a home in New York.

I see you. All the time.

I'll look over my shoulder and see you working on another clock. I'll look at the kitchen and see you, and Noah, and those damned waffles.

The ache in my chest is throbbing during the night..

The sleepless nights - most are - are the worst.

Sleepless nights you creep inside of me.

I can feel you, feel something. there.

But I look around me, and there's nothingness. Just a dark room, empty. Devoid of anything, save myself and my bed.

And my ring.

No matter where I put it, the light hits it, the reflection blinding me. I'll put the ring in drawers, cabinets, even cereal boxes. But it doesn't work. I know it's there. Reminding me of what's missing. Reminding me where I should be.

So, I place my head under my pillow and wait for morning to come. I can forget in the morning. I only need to be an agent. I don't have to be Elle.

Don't have to be a wife, don't have to be a mother.

But night always comes again.

Sometimes, I can't sleep at night.

* * *

**A/N:** Reviews, although entirely unnecessary, are very much appreciated.


	16. Eve of Destruction

**A/N:** I do rather enjoy this one, although it didn't take the direction I'd originally expected.

* * *

He turns his head to her, the rest of him standing resolute.

"I have to go."

Elle sighs. "I know."

"I'm going to have to kill a lot of innocent people."

"So am I."

They're fighting on opposite sides in this war. But they're fighting for one another. Fighting for their son, to make the world safe for him.

"I wish," Elle begins, "I wish we could fight for this together,."

"I know."

"But we'll do better, right?" There's a crack in Elle's voice. "We'll do better apart?"

He turns to her fully, and she runs to him.

"We've talked about this, Elle. Together, we wouldn't do enough damage. We need to get to Nathan before he can get to Sandra and Noah, remember?"

"I know." She wipes her eyes. "I know. I just-"

Gabriel silences her. "I miss him too."

He glances at his watch. "I have to go."

Elle kisses him passionately.

"Don't get hurt."

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Gabriel teases.

"Promise me, Gabriel."

"I promise."

He glances at his watch again. "Elle, I really have to go."

"Okay, okay. I love you."

He runs a hand over her face.

"I love you too."

Gabriel scurries away, into the night.

Neither Gabriel nor Elle know if they're ever going to see their son again - Elle has a sinking feeling that she won't - but they're fighting this war for him.

And they're going to win.


	17. Smile Through the Pain

A/N: Oh, second period. What would my fanfiction do without you? Yes, so, wrote the beginning of this during second period global, while looking at my hand. Because my viens pop out quite a bit, and I don't particullarly enjoy it.

So, anywho, enjoy!

* * *

She examined her hand under the blue light from the bedside alarm clock. The raised viens, the cracked skin. The last twenty years hadn't exactly been kind.

Twenty years.

Her son's entire life, wrapped up in two simple words.

She remembers every thought and feeling she'd had in the beginning.

Fear. Joy. Panic. Love.

Remembers the way he reacted, similar to her own reaction.

Fear, then a broadening grin. They could finally be happy. Fixed.

And fixed they were, for quite a while.

Noah was born a normal, happy, healthy baby boy. He had two not-so-normal parents who did the best they could with what they were given. But, when he was two, same age that his mother had been, Noah became not-so-normal. And the father wanted the son's abnormality. Unable to control his hunger, he left. Unbeknownst to anyone, before his departure, he gave his son one of his special gifts - regeneration. Apparently, power empathy worked both ways.

The boy's father returned to his family six months later, hunger free. Free of everything, save for precognitive drawing and telekenisis. (He never did get over the death of poor, scared Brian Davis.) He wasn't exactly welcomed back with open arms, but the parents managed to kiss and make up, and life fell into a steady routine.

The next shake-up for the small family came on Noah's third birthday, with his mother's collapse. The doctors said it was just over exhaustion and that she'd be fine by morning. She was, so the issue was dropped.

By the time Noah's fourth birthday rolled around, the excited parents had begun looking at elementary schools. A call from the wife of their recently deceased partner brought the family to a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood with three beautiful elementary schools. They now had a home in Costa Verde, CA.

Problem solved, Noah began elementary school. And he loved it. That first day was the hardest moment the young parents had faced. They put on their brave faces for their baby boy and gave him teary-eyed smiles as he skipped onto the bus.

Home alone together all day, everyday, the father began to notice just how sick his wife had become. When she passed out while washing the dishes, her husband brought her to the closest hospital.

Uncle Peter got Noah off the school bus that day, explaining that his momma was sick, but daddy and the doctors were going to take good care of her. He hoped he wasn't lying.

The official diagnosis was, well, there was no diagnosis. The doctors were just as lost as the couple was. But then the man disappeared. And he came back, a wide grin on his face. Those doctors were even more confused when the young mother healed miraculously overnight. (Although one med student did overhear them talking about cheerleader blood. She disappeared quickly.) The doctors had her stay overnight for testing, so they shared a heartfelt goodbye and the man returned to his son.

Unfortunately, the others chose that day to show up again. Young Noah survived due to his given regeneration. His father was not as fortunate, and Noah and his teddy were able to cry over his father's body for hours before anybody else could get to them.

Eventually, men in yellow suits showed up and brought Noah to his pretty mommy, who didn't look as pretty with tears falling down her face. And all Noah wanted to do was fix her and Daddy.

"Mommy," he pleaded. "Help Daddy." His mother tried to reassure the boy that his father was special, he was safe, but she wasn't so sure herself.

She called Peter. Begged him to look for Gabriel. And he did. Scoured the world looking for his "brother". Using Hiro's ability, it only took a few days to discover that Gabriel really had died in the explosion.

She didn't cry. Couldn't really. Smile through the pain, don't let them see your hurt. That became her motto. Noah could tell his mommy was hurting, and he told Peter just as much. He confronted her continuously, and finally, on the first anniversary of Gabriel's death, he broke her down.

That year, Elle and Noah packed up their things and moved to a small house in Wildwood, New Jersey. Noah didn't want to move, didn't want to leave his school or his friends. Once they got to the island, though, Noah loved it. The first thing Elle did was take him to the Boardwalk. They walked around, having fun, for the first time in a long while.

Every day that summer, they went to the beach. Sometimes they just walked along the shore, letting the water hit their feet. That was most days. Occasionally, they got into their favorite swimsuits, packed a nice lunch, and spent the entire day at the beach.

One time, Noah tripped over the tube in the sand. Elle ran to her son as fast as she could. He should have been cut up, or bruised, or something, but he wasn't. Elle was completely confused, and spent the entire evening pondering it. A few weeks and a couple of phone calls with Peter later, Elle figured out that Noah had Gabriel's regeneration. She didn't let go of him for an hour.

Noah was in seventh grade the first time he asked his mother not to go with him and his friends. "Oh, right, sure," she'd said. Her motto from the "dark year", as she now called it, pounded in her head. She followed it until Noah left, then broke out Ben and Jerry to help her cope. She even called Angela for advice. Angela of course, said it was completely normal, and to "deal with it". Mad then, Elle called Daphne Parkman, who'd become her friend in the past couple years, and warned her about Daniella not wanting her anymore. Daphne swore she'd call the first time her daughter did the same (Elle got the call a few weeks later).

At the end of eighth grade there was a dance. Noah invited a girl to go with him, and asked Elle to pick her up. The girl, Lilianna Rose, seemed nice enough, but Noah's mom – When did he start calling her that? Where did Mommy go? – was a bit wary of her. No one was stealing her baby from her.

In the blink of an eye, Noah could drive. He was taller than his mother, his voice an octave deeper than it had been. He was looked just like Gabriel had when they first met. But he didn't need any help from her. She didn't need to drive him to school, didn't need to pick him. If he wanted to go out, he could. It broke Elle's heart just a little.

Elle closed her eyes again. When she opened them, it was Noah's graduation day. He was eighteen. Legally an adult. Out of high school, with his entire life ahead of him. She was being forced to hand over complete control of her son's life to a baby, and she didn't like it. She took him up to the Boardwalk that night. They went on a few of their favorite rides and played a couple games in their favorite arcade – Gateway 21 – before going to dinner at their favorite restaurant – The Boat House. Elle just wanted to have a good time with her son. She coughed more than she should have that night.

One year ago, her son had been an unmarried boy. Then August 24th 2028 happened, and he was suddenly a married man. Damn that Lillianna Rose, Elle knew she was nothing but trouble.

Six months ago, Elle's mysterious disease came back. This time, she had no husband to run off to get miracle blood for her. There was no miracle blood to turn to. Claire was dead, Adam was somewhere (only Hiro and Ando knew, and Hiro had been dead for a while, which had driven Ando to insanity. Go figure), and the synthetics' blood didn't work.

Daphne, who had lost her husband to Nathan a few years ago, moved to New Jersey to help Elle out. Every day she pleaded that Elle tell her son, but the woman strongly refused.

Now, Elle lay in her bed, awaiting death, just staring at her hand. That same hand had just finished writing Noah a letter. It listed all her thoughts and feelings about her son, his family (Lily was expecting twins), and their future. It also wrote Daphne a thank-you letter of sorts, explaining how much the speedster meant to her.

She knew, somehow, that tonight was the night. She wouldn't live to see the next morning, but Elle was excited. Finally, after all this time, she and Gabriel would be together again. Elle fell asleep, a grin on her face.

"Gabriel?" she called. Why the hell was it so bright?

"Elle? I missed you."


	18. Boston

**Author's Note:** So, so, so, so sorry about the long wait. But a quadruple upload is worth it, right? :)

* * *

Gabriel leaned on the door frame, watching Elle, who was sitting on the couch.

"Our son's dead," he said, looking down.

"Stop," Elle pleaded.

"I could have stopped them, could have saved him."

"Stop that," Elle pleaded. Her voice broke and tears came to her eyes. She wanted to go back. Wanted to pretend that none of this had ever happened, like she had before.

"But I didn't. Our son's dead, and it's all my fault." For months now, Gabriel had been trying to get Elle to open up. She needed to feel something. It wasn't healthy for her to keep her emotions locked inside.

"Stop," Elle's voice grew louder.

"I suppose Claire had something to do with it, though." Gabriel had been thinking about a way to get Elle to talk for a while now. This was what he'd come up with.

"Gabriel," Elle warned, her voice stronger, but still laced with raw emotion.

"You did too, in a way." he looked over at her. "Leaving for weeks at time. Did you know that every time you left, Noah cried? Every time-"

"Stop that!" Elle screeched, fists clenched at her sides. She was sparking uncontrollably, with tears running down her face.

"Stop. I know what you're trying to do, Gabriel. Trying to make me show emotion. It's not going to happen."

Gabriel smirked. "Hasn't it already?"

Elle scowled, then placed her hands on her hips and looked away.

"Elle, I know what you're feeling. You think that, somehow, it's your fault that he died. But that's not it, is it, Elle? You blame me, don't you? You think I should have done something. Maybe I should have collected a defensive power or two. Maybe I should have sent Noah farther away than under a table. I definitely should have taken Knox out before he had the chance to do anything."

They were standing inches apart, both trebling. Elle ran her teeth over her bottom lip in an attempt to keep it from quivering. When she finally decided to give in to her emotions, she collapsed on Gabriel, sobbing uncontrollably.

"How can you know these things," she asked between sobs, "unless you've been inside my head?"

Gabriel let her sobs come to a quiet before he answered. He titled her head up, so they were looking each other in the eyes.

"Because I'm thinking exactly the same things, Elle," he murmured, running a hand over her face. "It's not our fault, Elle. It's not."

She studied his face quietly, looking for the features Noah had shared with him. The same dark eyes, the same ears.

"Are you sure?"

Gabriel chuckled at Elle, holding her closer.

"Yes, I'm sure.

Elle looked to the floor.

"I wish he was here."

"Me too."

Elle looked at him suddenly. "Let's get out of this apartment and go somewhere. Far away. Ever been to Italy? I've heard good things."

"Italy might be a little hard," Gabriel reasoned. "What about Boston? It's not close, but it's not unreachable."

Elle smiled - actually smiled - and nodded.

"Boston it is."


	19. Taken

All of her life, things had been unwillingly taken from Elle.

It started with her favorite doll. Her name was Martha. When Elle was five, her Daddy turned her Martha into gold. Too heavy for the young girl to lift, Martha was never played with again.

When she was six, her pretty grandma and her even prettier mommy died. Elle didn't know that her sparks caused it. At the funeral, her aunt told her, "God has taken them to a better place." Elle didn't know who that God guy was, but she decided then and there that she didn't like him very much. Two years later, while living with her aunt in Ohio, Elle got so angry that her sparks caused four counties to black out for weeks. That's when she was sent back to her Daddy.

By the time Elle turned nine, she was living at the Company, training on a daily basis. She wanted to be an agent someday. But not just any agent. Elle wanted to be the best of the best. Because maybe then, Daddy might be proud of her. And her life was all about making Daddy and the doctors proud. But her dreams were shattered by Mrs. Angela's creul words: "Her? She's not agent material. No, she'll never do."

Elle's thrirteenth birthday came on a Friday the Thirteenth. At this point, she knew better than to expect special treatment from anybody. But then her father told her she didn't have to train that day. She was going to babysit a four-year-old, Claire Bennet - Noah's kid - , at this place called Chuckie Cheese. It was Elle's best birthday ever. Until Claire decided to have some fun with Elle. She ran around the place, screaming for her parents. Elle was scolded for a good hour that night. She hated Claire after that.

The day Elle got her licence was the most liberating day of her life. Elle could go anywhere she wanted, do anything she wanted. She took off that night, driving around aimlessly. Just because she could. She drove herself to the mall to do some congratulatory shopping, thanks to the Company credit card. When she left the mall, at nine o'clock at night, her shiny new car was missing. She took a cab back to the Company, and got a half-sincere "That's too bed, Elle."

She became an agent when she was twenty-one. Elle's first assignment was watching that Claire kid. Again. Except this time, it wasn't at Chuckie Cheese. No, it was at a high school. And she hated every minute of it. Claire-Bear didn't manifest any abilities, so Elle got to go home as planned. She was almost thankful to be out of there. But Elle hadn't gone to a real high school. And she kinda liked Union Wells. She wished Claire had an ability, so she could have stayed a little while longer. Elle wished it even more when she found out Sylar was there the next week.

When Elle met Gabriel Gray, she was twenty-three. Right away, Elle saw something special about that man. Noah continuously reminded her that Gabriel was a killer, and not to be trusted. But Elle didn't exactly listen. She was never very good at listening. She grew closer and closer and closer to Gabriel. She liked him. No, Elle loved him. So when she brought Trevor to Gabriel's tiny appartment, her heart broke just a little. Her heart shattered completely when Gabriel slammed her against the wall, and sent her out. That day was the worst of Elle's short life. Because, that time, the one she loved was taken from her - and it was all her fault.

Six months later, after Sylar had killed Elle's Daddy, and tried to kill her, they met again. Sylar walked into Elle's cell, completely unaware of what was about to happen. Elle immediately fired at him. She was amazed, at first, that he didn't even attempt to fight back, just stood there and let her vent all of her anger and sorrow into him. As her sparks got more powerful, her anger faded away, leaving only grief. Elle collapsed on the floor, emotionally spent. But suddenly Gabriel was there, coaxing her into forgiving herself. He ran his hand down her arm, shivers going up and down her spine, and her sparks appeared in his hand. Elle tried using her power, which worked better now than it ever had before. Gabriel took away her pain. And she was happy to let him.

Only days later, on the dirty floor of Stephen Canfield's house, Gabriel took her virginity. He didn't ask, but at that point, she didn't mind. Looking back, she realised she should never have given into Gabriel. Elle should have known the monster was there. But she was still young and still slightly naive. That very same night, after Elle had once again begun dreaming about a normal, happy life with Gabriel, he killed her. Tried to, anyway. He didn't finish the cut, and backed off of her quickly. "Go," was his simple command, to which Elle obliged. She knew she'd never see Gabriel again, so Elle vowed that this time, Sylar would die for taking away her happy dreams. And his death would be by her hand.

So, now, Elle stands on Bennet's doorstep, holding a squirming baby in her arms. It's her son, Noah. A perfect fusion of her and Gabriel. And it needs to stay that way; needs to stay that perfect. Elle knows that with her, her son's chance for a happy life will be shot. And she's not evil, a little physchopathic sometimes, but not evil. She won't do that to her child. Bennet is Noah's best chance for a normal, happy life. The door opens, and Elle and Little Noah's fates are sealed. For the first time, Elle is going to willingly give away something that's hers. Simply because she loves it. Elle pushes Little Noah into his namesake's arms, a plead on her face that's too hard for HRG to ignore.

"Take it from me."


	20. Family

"You know, that kid's gonna keep you up in the middle of the night," Bennet said with a grin.

Even though he didn't particularly like Sylar or approve of his relationship with Elle, Bennet was offering them all the help they needed. Not that he'd ever admit it, but Noah felt a twinge of fatherly affection toward Elle.

Gabriel nodded. "We know."

Noah looked at the squirming infant in Gabriel's arms. His namesake smiled back up at him.

"And you're gonna need to protect him. From everything."

"We know."

"I already mentioned this to Elle... Speaking of which, how is she?"

Gabriel tore his gaze away from his son to look over at Elle's hospital room.

"Sleeping. I'm supposed to bring Noah to her soon, but..."

Bennet nodded, understanding.

"Gabriel," Noah said, seriously, sitting down. Gabriel followed his lead.

"Claire is going to go after him." HRG offered Noah his hand, which the infant grabbed to play with.

"We know. I, uh, acquired some defensive powers."

Bennet nodded, understanding again. He would have done anything to protect his Claire-Bear.

He reached into his back pocket, gently tugging his hand away from the baby, and handed Gabriel a set of keys.

"My house in Costa Verde. I want you to have it."

Gabriel shifted his son in his arms. "Noah, I can't... we can't take that from you."

"Yes," he smiled, "you can."

"Gabriel?" Elle called from her room.

Bennet nodded to her. "Go. I'll wait here."

Gabriel stood and carried his son back to Elle. "Hey," he whispered.

She smiled at him. "Hey."

He handed Noah to her, and she gladly took him, smiling and cooing all the while. She let him curl his tiny fist around one of her fingers before she turned to Gabriel.

"Did you talk to Bennet?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"What if," Elle ran her bottom lip through her teeth gently, "What if Bennet's right?"

"About Claire?" Gabriel asked.

Elle nodded and looked back to her son.

"Then we'll deal with it together. Bennet said he'd help us... He's giving us his house."

Elle's head snapped to his. "What?"

"Bennet wants us to go live in Costa Verde."

"What'd, what'd you say?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"I told him we couldn't take it. He insisted."

"What do you think we should do?"

Gabriel thought for a moment. Slowly, a smile grew on his face.

"Let's go to Costa Verde."

Elle smiled back at him. "Costa Verde it is."

"What about the apartment?" Gabriel asked. They'd been staying in an apartment in Queens for most of Elle's pregnancy.

"Call Noah in here," Elle suggested. Noah entered the room a few seconds later.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He nodded in return.

"We want you to have our apartment. We're not gonna need it."

Noah looked a little taken aback, but he quickly composed himself. "That's not necessary, Elle."

"Yes it is," she nodded.

"Thank you," he said. "I'll leave you to your family."

Elle smiled. "You are family."


	21. Of A Different Perspective

It's disgusting.

Absolutely, utterly disgusting.

The Monster and the Bitch. AKA Sylar and Elle.

And their spawn.

His name is Noah, after **my** father.

My dead father.

My assignment, for now, is to watch them.

And I hate it.

I'll peer in the window, watching as Sylar - even though he's got his glasses back and goes by Gabriel now, I know he'll always be Sylar - makes the boy waffles. The Bitch usually joins at around ten o'clock, always reaching for a cup of coffee before speaking.

It's not right.

They shouldn't be here. This is my house. **My** Mr. Muggles.

The waffles are just the icing on the god-damned cake.

By 10:30, spawn-boy - I've been watching him for powers. With parents like his, you'd think he'd be able to do something, right? Well, he can't. So Bio-Dad won't take him. But don't worry. That boy will manifest, I know it. - is sat down in front of the television, and the psychos enjoy some alone time-together.

It's probably definitely the worst part of my day. I have to watch their stupid, flirty glances, see their stolen kisses. I hate it.

Let's say that a couple more times, just for shits and giggles. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.

The Sociopath - Yeah, I broke into her files. What're you gonna do, sue me? - leaves for work by 11:00. I'm pretty sure it's the new Primatech, because that's right around the time Dad used to leave, but I've never heard anything, so I don't know.

I really wish I'd taken a synth ability when they offered it to me.

While Blondie's at work, Serial Killer and Spawnie sit down to read. The kid's not bright. He holds his books upside down.

Mr. Murderer feeds him at 12:00. I eat then, too. I do love my Boca Burgers.

Monster, Jr. takes a nap from 1-3:30. Meanwhile, Brain Man - I didn't come up with that one, but I like it - picks up around my house. He always starts cleaning in my kitchen. He usually cleans his kid's room last - I know, thanks to my awesome tree-climbing skills - which is when he wakes Little No-Powers up.

Wait a minute. Sparky's home early today. She normally doesn't get back until five. And it's four. Primatech does not let people leave early. I should know.

She goes inside, then meets her family in the kid's room - Yeah, I know I've already called him that, but I'm running out of options - and hugs him.

I'm confused.

Barbie leaves the room, then disappears for a while. Her brain-removing husband follows soon after. Their bedroom - my parents' old room - is the only room in the house that I can't see from this angle, and my god, am I thankful for it. What those two do in the shower is bad enough.

Oh, they're downstairs now. With luggage. Is someone being kicked out? I would really love it if one of them was being kicked out... Scratch that, I'd really love it if all of them were kicked out.

Power-house has bags. Like, actual suitcases. For a plane. She hates planes. For a good reason, too. If I hadn't been there on the way to Primatech that day, there woulda been a planeful of dead people to clean up. And that would have sucked ass.

They're outside now. I love when they go outside. Because I can hear them.

"Do you have to go, Elle?" Sylar's asking.

Blah, blah, blah. Fluff, fluff, fluff. What's Mrs. Brain-Slicer saying now?

"For when I'm gone, there's just one rule. Don't die."

I live by that rule, Kitten. Just like you used to.

He's smiling as he hugs her. "We won't."

Ugh, did I mention how much I hate this?

There's an actual tear in Lady Sparks-A-Lot eye as she says, "I'll be back in a week," and drives off.

What a loser. They're so...

She'll be back in a week. Meaning, she'll be gone for an entire week.

Looks like I'll get to have some fun tomorrow.


	22. The Lightning

Elle stood outside the happy family's window, watching. The rain made her short out, but she didn't care.

Gabriel tossed their son in the air – Elle could see him carefully calculate where Noah would fall – and caught him. Both father and son wore great smiles. They looked so happy. The sight made Elle's already broken heart break a little bit more.

"Daddy!" Noah cried, his giggles coming to an end. "You know I don't like to fly."

A look passed over Gabriel's face, a look Elle had become familiar with these days - Regret.

"Sorry, champ," Gabriel said, the look gone. He feigned a smile for his son.

"Why don't you go pick out a movie, Noah?"

"Okay, Dad," the boy said, scampering off.

Tears fell down Elle's face, mingling with the rainwater. Her baby boy was so beautiful. Today was his fourth birthday.

She came here every year, twice a year to peak through the window. Elle never had the courage to attempt to go in, although she did ring the doorbell on Christmas.

Elle sparked brilliantly. The water combined with her heightened emotions was not a good thing. Especially since Gabriel had seen that.

"Hello?" He called, stepping out onto the front porch. Elle hid in the bushes.

"Noah, set the movie up. I'll be right in," Gabriel called, closing the door.

He conjured a ball of electricity in his hand and began scanning the yard for her.

"I know you're out here, Elle." She didn't move for a while, but eventually dragged herself to a standing position.

"What's it feel like?" She asked him.

Gabriel turned to her, the ball in his hand fading as he took in her appearance. It reminded him of a time, four years ago. When Arthur Petrelli was still alive and claiming to be his father. When he had seen Elle for what she truly was – broken – and tried to fix her.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Your life here. You look… happy. So does he."

"It feels like something's missing," Gabriel said, moving closer to her.

"No! Stop it, Gabriel. We've been down this road before. I am dangerous. Look at me! I can't control my powers, and it's been this way for years now! Don't ask me to do this to my son, Gabriel. I won't," Elle said. Her voice softened. "You should know that by now."

"Elle," Gabriel replied firmly, moving closer still. "Noah needs his mother."

"He needs stability. He needs love. He needs to be protected."

"Elle, you're right. You're not the most stable person in the world. But you love him, I know you do. And he sure as hell doesn't need protecting from you! God, Elle, he's indestructible. A prick or two every now again isn't going to hurt him!"

The rain pelted harder as lightning struck somewhere in the distance.

"Elle, I can help through this. We can handle your power together, like we did before," Gabriel said. He had to shout over the wind.

"You didn't answer my question before, not really, anyway. What's it feel like, being a good parent?" Elle said, voice soft, hands clenched.

"Who said I'm a good parent?" Gabriel asked.

"I think you're a good Daddy," Noah said, appearing in the doorway.

"Thank you, Noah. I think you're a good boy too. And you know what good boys do? They listen when their father tells them to do something. So will you go start watching the movie? I'll be in soon, okay?" Gabriel said.

"Okay, Daddy. But only because I'm a good boy," Noah said. He closed the door on his way in.

Gabriel looked back to the spot where Elle had been.

"Elle…" he trailed off when he realized she had gotten away.

"I will find you, Elle. I'm not giving up on you." Gabriel headed inside dejectedly.

"You should," Elle whispered from her hiding spot. The lightning flashed behind her as she disappeared into the night.


	23. The Game

A gun is suddenly being cocked behind him, pressing at the nape of his neck. He could use his powers to get out of the situation, but feels like a nice game tonight.

"Well this'll be fun," he says, a grin forming on his face.

"Sylar, long time no see." He freezes, the smile falling.

"You're supposed to be dead."

"It didn't stick." He can just picture her cocking her head to the side as she says it.

"The company brought you back?"

"You and I both know that's burned to the ground," Elle says, popping her bubblegum.

"It wasn't then."

"Well done, Inspector. You figured out the big mystery." Sarcasm. Nice.

"I'll take it that's a no." Sylar's head tilts to the side. She's supposed to be dead. Why isn't she?

"Ooooh, you're good at this game."

That's all it is to either of them, a game. But suddenly he finds he wants the game to end.

Sylar tries using telekinesis to get the gun away, to no avail.

"You've got the Haitian somewhere around here?"

Elle smiles, pulls the gun away slightly, but immediately thinks better of it.

"Nope. Just me."

Sylar's confused, but does nothing as she pushes the gun shaft deep into his neck.

"And I want my answers."

He rolls his eyes; he should have known this was coming.

"Ask."

"Why'd you do it?" He's been asking himself this same question for over a year now, and has only just come to the conclusion.

"Why'd I kill you? You were a weakness. And I couldn't have that."

"A weakness?" Elle questions.

"Yeah, a weakness."

"We had just... in the Canfield's..." She's at a loss for words.

Three paths are laid in front of Sylar. He knows he can should turn the gun around and shoot her, continuing his quest for power and the truth. A part of him wants to fix her, like he did all those months ago in that cell in Pinehearst. And somewhere, in the in the deep recesses of his mind, the third thought occurs: let her shoot you.

"You still want it, don't you?" Sylar figures, his voice taking on a taunting tone. "Still want us."

She stutters for a few seconds.

"No," Elle answers firmly.

She can't do this. God damn it, Glasses was right. Knowing Sylar can't see her, she waves for HRG to take over. He spots the signal and marches to Elle, replacing her spot behind Sylar.

Sylar notes the change in height, hears the new person cock his gun.

"Bennet." It's a statement, not a question.

"He's in the car, waiting," Noah mutters to Elle. He turns to Sylar and says "Hello, Gabriel" as she begins to walk away.

"We were happy Elle. Remember?" Sylar calls, a plea in his voice. He doesn't want to die, and Glasses will not hesitate to kill him.

She stops, turning towards him. When she speaks, there's venom in her voice. "I've never been happy."

Gunshots ring out into the night. Ellle doesn't know who's left standing, and she doesn't care to either. Her job here is done.

She climbs into the driver's seat of her mini van, Noah sleeping blissfully unaware in his car seat, and drives away.

And Elle never looks back.


	24. Who We Were Meant to Be

They've met before, Gabriel and Elle. They don't know it, but they have, many, many times. They would remember each time as something special. But Bob didn't like Gabriel, didn't want his daughter associated with him. So, with the wave of a dark hand, she wasn't. They forgot each of their meetings, their special moments. Up until Elle was forced to betray Gabriel, that is.

And then Bob died. Was killed, technically, but being murdered is still a death. Eventually, the company got Elle to work for them again. And she brought Sylar with her. She figured she owed the company, since they were the ones who brought her back to life.

The Haitian rather enjoyed being Elle's silent protector. He always had, even when she was a child. He knew, from the papers he may or may not have seen on Angela's desk, that his employment with the company was to come to an end soon. Which meant they were going to kill him.

So, The Haitian decided he would give Sylar and Elle back their memories. Maybe that's what would finally heal the two of them, for good.

He would fix Sylar first. Sylar would be easier to fix, as less had been taken from him.

Silently, he creeps into Sylar's cell. "Sylar," he says, his accent thick as ever, "I'm going to fix you. And you're going to let me."

Sylar nods. He knows who the man is. But he also knows that The Haitian is to be trusted. Because he has his own agendas. He's like Bennet, but different. Bennet would kill him. The Haitian would help him.

"Close your eyes. It will be easier. There's a lot for you to see."

So he does.

There's an instant bright light, and then...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Age 4**

"Mom," Gabriel said, pulling free from his mother's hand. "I'm going to go play on the swings."

Sylar watches through his younger self's eyes as Virginia nods distractedly.

In his haste to get to the swings, young Gabriel wasn't watching where he was going. He tripped and fell onto the rocks, tears springing in his eyes.

"Hi," a young girl approached him. "Are you okay?"

Gabriel nodded, sniffling.

"Liar," the girl grinned, bending down to his level. She took a cloth from her pocket and wiped away all the blood on Gabriel's knees.

"Thanks," Gabriel said, smiling at her. "My name's Gabriel."

"Feel better, Gabriel!" She got up to leave.

"Wait!" Gabriel called. "What's your name?"

The girl smiled, her blue eyes lighting up. "Elle."

**Age 10 ****  
**  
Gabriel was at the mall, by himself. For the first time. Granted the mall was only a ten minute walk from his house, but you had to start somewhere.

When he got to the mall, he didn't know what to do. He just sat on a bench, trying to figure out where to go.

That's when he noticed the young girl. She was blond, and somewhere near his age.

She was hiding behind a bench, near Gabriel's spot, tears streaming down her face.

"Hey," he coaxed. "Hey, are you okay?"

The girl shook her head. He gently removed her from her hiding spot, letting her expel all her tears on his shirt.

"What happened?" Gabriel asked, placing an arm around her shoulder.

"My mom died. And my Grandma. And my Daddy got really mad. So I ran away."

"I'm sorry, kiddo. Why was your Daddy mad?"

"He said I killed my mommy."

Sylar's heart softens for the young girl.

Although he was confused, the ten-year-old Gabriel let the sentence go.

"I'm Gabriel. What's your name?"

"Elle Bishop. I'm scared, Gabriel. I've never been this far away from my house."

Gabriel smiled softly at her, wiping the last of her tears from her face.

"I've never been this far from my house either. And I'm scared too, but don't tell anyone."

Elle giggled at that.

"But you know what?" Gabriel continued, "I'm being brave. And I bet you can be too."

Elle thought about it for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I can do that."

"Good. Now why don't we see about getting you something to eat."

"Like ice cream?"

Gabriel took Elle's hand.

"Like ice cream."

The scene swirled and fizzled, and there was a blinding white light, then...

**Age 15**

Gabriel was in a dark room. The table he laid on was cold. Metal, he decided. There was a single, swinging lamp overhead. He had no recollection of how he had gotten there, or what they had done to him, or who they even were. The only things he remembered were brief flashes of dark skin, horn-rimmed glasses, and blond hair.

Suddenly, there was a loud scraping noise. The metal door being opened.

"Gabriel," a young, feminine voice called.

"Hello?" he questioned warily.

The blond girl - what was her name? Gabriel knew he knew it. Emily... No, Ella... no! Elle - came toward him, a glowing, blue orb in her hands.

Out of fear, Gabriel attempted to back away.

Sylar looks on, as confused as his young self. He doesn't remember any of this.

"Gabriel, I can't help you if you don't let me," Elle said, coming closer to him.

Still wary of the girl's intent, but willing to accept her help, Gabriel held his cuffed hands to her.

"Close your eyes. Try to be as still as possible. My sharp-shooting is a little off, so forgive me if I let a strand hit you."

Gabriel nodded and complied.

Elle closed one eye, and took aim, hitting the cuffs in just the right spot.

Gabriel smiled at her and sat up, rubbing his wrists. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Elle smiled brilliantly, then her face soured. "Now move, quick, before my Dad shows up."

Gabriel nodded, parting with a promise.

"I won't forget you."

**Age 20 ****  
**  
Gabriel had been seeing a girl online for a while now. He hadn't told anyone, out of embarrassment, but things had gotten kind of serious.

He and the girl, whom he knew only as Elecktra, were going on their first real date tonight. It was Gabriel's first date ever, although she didn't need to know that.

They were going to go to the theater down the street - they were having some artsy, spoken word thing that looked neat - then go back to his apartment for ziti - Gabriel had cooked it himself - and pie. She was to bring the pie. He hoped she brought peach.

Elecktra was supposed to arrive at his house at 6:00. He waited around for her to show up. She finally did, near 8:00.

"I'm so sorry Gabriel. I... I got stuck at work."

Sylar knows the truth behind Elecktra's late arrival, and it breaks him a little bit more.

Gabriel plastered a smile on his face. "It's fine. You look exhausted. Why don't we just stay here, and eat the pie?"

Elecktra cringed. "Sorry."

"That's okay, I have ice cream," he moved to the fridge, stopping when he noticed that she didn't follow him.

"You can come in, if you want. Stick around, stay awhile."

Elecktra sighed. "I can't Gabriel. I... My father found out that I was seeing someone over the Internet and got pretty upset. He threatened to have them test me again..." she sighed again, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I can't let them do that to me again. Not anymore."

"Elecktra-" Gabriel cried.

She silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. "I'll see you around, Gabriel."

As she walked down the hallway, he called after her, "I don't even know your real name."

"Elecktra" turned back to him and smiled. "Elle. Elle Bishop. You?"

He leaned against the door-frame and smiled back at her. "Gabriel Gray."

The smile fell from Elle's face and she looked down, placing both hands in her back pockets.

She looked back up at him through her bangs.

"Nice to have met you, Gabriel Gray."

"You too, Elle Bishop."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sylar sits up, grasping for air.

"I told you," The Haitian says.

"Elle?" Sylar questions. He needs to get to her, talk to her. He needs to be near her.

"Working on it," The Haitian says. He looks through the window, before pushing the cell door open. "Quickly, Gabriel."

Stealthily, they hurry to Elle's room. It's dark, small, and grey, much like Sylar's cell. It is a cell, he decides. A cell with no lock.

"Elle," The Haitian says, leaning down to her.

Sylar feels a little awkward about being in her bedroom while she's sleeping, but he says nothing.

Elle mumbles incoherently in her sleep as The Haitian places his hands over her head.

Her eyes snap wide open as the memories begins flooding back...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Age 2**

Her Mommy decided to take her the the park that day. She'd given her daughter a nice new handkerchief, in case she tripped and fell.

Elle walked around the playground. She was never very good at playing with people. Her dollies, sure. But not people.

She looked to her left, where a boy and his mother stood. The woman was very skinny, like the girls Elle had seen in magazines.

Except they were much prettier.

The boy had dark hair, and on closer look, dark eyes to match.

Elle immediately recognizes the woman as Virginia Gray, figuring the boy to be none other than Gabriel himself.

The two-year-old watched as Gabriel tripped and fell, scraping his knee in the process. Sad that a Mommy would leave her son like that - Elle wouldn't even think of doing such a thing to her dollies - Elle dashed over to help the boy.

"Hi," she said shyly. "Are you okay?"

The boy nodded, but Elle could see the tears in his eyes.

She bent down to him, using her Mommy's favorite phrase for her Daddy: "Liar."

Elle pulled her bright, new handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the boy's knees, like her Mommy had done for her.

"Thanks," he said with a smile. "My name's Gabriel."

From the corner of her eye, Elle could see her mother waving her over. She got up quickly, saying "Feel better, Gabriel!"

"Wait," he called, tilting his head to the side. "What's your name?"

"Elle," she said, dashing off.

"Mommy, guess what?"

"What, love?"

"I met a boy named Gabriel. I patched him up all up, just like you do for me!"

Elle's mother chuckled. "Your father's going to have boy trouble with you, young lady."

**Age 8**

"What did I do?" Elle asked herself, over, over, and over again.

She knew what she'd done. Elle had killed her mother and her grandmother, and taken off.

Elle was in the middle of a mall in Queens - she saw a sign that said Queens on it somewhere along the way - hiding behind a bench, completely alone. Elle had never been more afraid in her life.

"Hey," a boy questioned. She looked up at him. "Hey, are you okay?"

Elle knew she should just ignore him. "Men are dangerous," her father always said. But this boy... he couldn't have been much older than Elle. And he had the most beautiful brown eyes.

She shook her head and allowed the boy to half-carry, half-drag her out onto the bench. She cried against this boy's chest for a good half an hour, feeling safe with him.

"What happened?" he asked finally. Elle smiled when he put his arm around her shoulders.

"My mom died. And my Grandma. And my Daddy got really mad," Elle deliberately left out the fact that she killed her family with her sparks, and continued with her story, "so I ran away."

"I'm sorry, kiddo." Kiddo? "Why was your Daddy mad at you?"

Elle winces, knowing her past self is about to lie to the boy - the Gabriel - that she so obviously has a crush on.

"He says I killed my Mommy," Elle said, looking up at Gabriel very innocently. She could tell that the boy was confused and was happy when he changed the subject.

"I'm Gabriel," he said. "What's your name?"

"Elle Bishop," she said, feeling it necessary for Gabriel to know her whole name. She looked at him, then at all the surrounding people, then back to Gabriel, and whispered, "I'm scared, Gabriel." A few large tears feel down her cheeks, which Gabriel wiped away. "I've never been this far away from my house before."

Gabriel smiled at her. "I've never been this far from my house either. And I'm scared too," hr leaned down and his whispered in her ear, "but don't tell anyone."

Elle giggled, and Gabriel laughed along with her. It felt so nice to laugh. Elle never wanted to stop laughing with Gabriel.

"But you know what?" Gabriel continued, "I'm being brave. And I bet you can be too."

Elle thought about it for a moment. She knew she could be brave. She just didn't always want to. But Elle knew that once she got back to her daddy, she'd have to be very brave. Daddy didn't like it when his big girl wasn't brave.

Elle nodded slowly, determinedly. "I can do that." She'd have to.

"Good," Gabriel said, pulling the both of them to their feet. Elle liked the way he took control, but still managed to make her feel completely safe. "Now why don't we see about getting you something to eat."

"Like ice cream?" It'd been so long since she last had ice cream. Or anything sweet, for that matter.

Elle happily obliged when Gabriel took her hand.

"Like ice cream."

The vision swirls into a mess of indistinguishable color. Eventually, Elle can make out the dark gray walls of Primatech...

**Age 13**

"Daddy," Elle said, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. "He's only fifteen."

"I know that, Elle," Bob said calmly. Elle really disliked her father sometimes. She could never hate him, though. He was the only one left for her.

"But he doesn't even have an ability!"

"I know that, Elle," her father's voice is stronger this time.

Elle glared at him, then backed off. "Fine," she said in a huff, leaving her father's office.

"Stupid Daddies," Elle mumbled, walking to the elevator. She was going to see how Gabriel's testing was doing. That boy had the most beautiful, dark eyes. She could swear that she met him before, but her Daddy was adamant that she hadn't.

When she arrived at the front of Gabriel's cell, Elle was immediately spotted by a doctor. Doctor Jenkins, her usual doctor. "Oh good, " he mumbled, barely tearing his eyes away from his clipboard. "Get in there, Elle," he commanded.

Elle did as she was told, curious. This boy was so intriguing. But he was normal. What could the doctors possibly want her to do?

"Elle," Doctor Jenkins spoke through the intercom, safely behind a panel of glass. "I want you to spark him."

Her eyes widened and she blinked a couple times before asking, "Could you say that again?"

"I want. You," the doctor pointed to Elle, "to spark. Him, " Doctor Jenkins finished, pointing at Gabriel. Elle was horrified.

She began to back toward the wall. "No, I won't do it. You can't make me."

The Doctor stepped through the door, closing it behind him. "Listen girl, I've put up with enough of your bullshit. I can too make you. I can make you do whatever the hell I please. I'm a spiker."

Elle's eyes widened in fear. A Spiker was a person who turn turn their body into connected, walking, talking spikes. Only one was supposed to have existed, or so the company thought. Apparently, they were wrong.

Not knowing what to do, Elle shocked Doctor Jenkins. Her fear probably made the blast more intense than it could have been. She killed him. Elle didn't feel anything but happiness. And that scared her.

Later on, in the dead of night, after being thoroughly reprimanded by her father, Elle returned to Gabriel's cell. He was not going to become like her. He was too good for that.

She pushed the metal door open as quietly as possible, leaving it open. Her all-black attire hid her well in the darkness.

"Gabriel," she whispered.

"Hello?" he called back. Oh great. Just great. The Haitian had already gotten to him.

Elle held up an orb of blue electricity. She watched as Gabriel shied away and sighed inwardly.

"Gabriel," she said softly. Elle looked him directly in the eyes. "I can't help you if you don't let me."

She could see his distrust, but decided to try to ignore it. That would make this easier.

"Close your eyes. Try to be a s still as possible. My sharp-shooting is a little off, so forgive me if I let a strand hit you."

Elle tried to clear her mind to concentrate, like her trainer had taught her. She looked at the contraptions around Gabriel's wrists, then at her pointed finger. She could do this, she knew she could.

And suddenly, Gabriel's restraints were gone. She'd never been more proud of herself.

"Thanks," he said, smiling at her brilliantly.

"You're welcome," she smiled back. Knowing her mission, Elle peered out the open door. She knew someone would have noticed that she'd escaped from her room.

"Now move, quick, before my Dad shows up." Gabriel nodded.

He made a hasty exit, turning back to her only to say: "I won't forget you."

Elle hoped he wouldn't. She stood in Gabriel's doorway until her father showed up, then feigning sleepwalking. Elle didn't need to deal with her father tonight.

**Age 18**

"C'mon, Elle," her father pleaded. "Just a few more tests."

The woman in question was breathing deeply, clearly exhausted. Angry, she struck the target again.

"You said that ten tests ago," Elle hissed, turning to her father. He was watching from behind the glass as she endured test after test.

"You need these tests, Elle. I wouldn't make you take them if you didn't." Elle struck the target again.

"Liar."

"Elle," her father admonished. "You seem to be in an awful hurry tonight. Where are you going?"

She ignored him and focused on the target, pouring most of her energy into incinerating it.

"Nowhere."

"Elle," Bob called sternly. Elle turned to him, snapping her gum loudly.

"What?" She questioned, annoyed.

Bob scrutinized his daughter.

"You have a date, don't you?"

Elle turned to the new target, hitting it lightly a few times.

"You do have a date."

Elle turned back to her father, her voice full of malice.

"Yes, Daddy, I have a date. Is that such a bad thing?"

Bob raised his hands in mock-defeat. "Oh no. By all means, Elle. Go to your date. It's much more important than your training."

Elle huffed, but jumped at the opportunity.

"I don't approve of this, Elle. You know that. You can never, ever have a normal life with this man. It's cruel of you to lead him on like this."

As she drove to Gabriel's tiny apartment, Elle tried her best to ignore her father, but his words kept ringing in her head. He was right, she'd never be normal.

Daddy still is right, Elle muses. Maybe one day, Elle would have normal. But it'd never come anytime soon.

Elle arrived at Gabriel's at 7:47, an hour and forty-seven minutes after she was supposed to have arrived.

"I'm so sorry Gabriel. I... I got stuck at work." The excuse falls oh so familiarly off of her tongue, and she doesn't like that.

"It's fine. You look exhausted. Why don't we just stay here, and eat the pie?" Elle can tell the smile is fake, can see the disappointment hidden behind the nerdy glasses.

Pie. Shit. Elle cringed. "Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly.

"That's okay, I have ice cream." Gabriel moved to his refrigerator, leaving Elle in his doorway. When she didn't follow him, he turned to her, a desperate look on his handsome face. "You can come in, if you want. Stick around, stay awhile."

"I can't Gabriel." Here it is, the moment of truth. Who will Elle be loyal to: herself or her father?

"I... My father found out that I was seeing someone over the Internet and got pretty upset. He threatened to have them test me again..." Elle sighed, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I can't let them do that to me again. Not anymore."

Her weakness in this matter had shown her one thing - she needed to learn to take control of her own life.

That would start tomorrow.

Gabriel walked back over to Elle, standing no farther than two inches from her. "Elecktra," he said desperately.

Elle smiled, placing a finger on his lips. She would see this man again someday. And she'd be stronger then. "I'll see you around, Gabriel."

She turned her back on him, then. Turned her back on her old life.

"I don't even know your real name," he called after her. She half-turned to him, a smile on her face. "Elle. Elle Bishop. You?"

His shoulders slumped forward slightly as he smile gently. "Gabriel Gray."

She didn't want to leave this man. She frowned then, sticking her hands in her back pockets as she was so used to doing. Slowly, she looked up at him through her bangs.

"Nice to have met you, Gabriel Gray," she said. And she meant every antagonizing word.

She turned to go back down the hallway as Gabriel whispered,

"You too, Elle Bishop."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elle looks around her room frantically. She visably calms when she spots Gabriel.

"Gabriel," she sobs. He moves to her bed, holding her as she cries, much like he had all those years ago in a crowd Queens mall.

"I know, Elle," he strokes her hair, "I know."

They'd met so many times. Yet the onyl thing thing they were allowed to remmember was the the hurt. It wasn't fair.

Elle turns to The Haitian. "Thank you," she says. Gabriel nods his agreement.

As The Haitian moves to leave the room, Elle calls after him. "I saw the papers on Angela's desk, I know what they're planning."

"Then you know why I did this."

Elle nods. "Can I ask you one more thing?"

As The Haitian turns back to her, It's his turn to nod.

"What's your name?"

This very question he's contemplated answering many times. He supposes now is as good a time as any. He moves toward the door, beginning to close it.

"Noah."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Many months later, when Elle gives birth to her and Gabriel's son, they choose to name him Noah.

Some of those who know of Noah Gray- there's a very select few - assume that they've named him after Noah Bennet.

Although Glasses has been wonderful to them, going as far as to give them his home, Elle and Gabriel know the origin of their son's name - Tha Haitian.

Only one person ever asks them about it - Sandra Bennet. She calls Elle one day, and the question comes out of the blue.

"Why name him Noah?"

Elle smiles, although she knows Sandra can't see her.

"Because he showed us who we were meant to be."


	25. Have It Your Way

**Title:** Have It Your Way  
**Author:**emily64cooper  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing/Characters:** Sylar/Elle, Luke  
**Prompt:** 25. Have it your way  
**Summary:** AU after The Eclipse, Pt. 2. What life would have been like had Sylar not killed Elle.  
**A/N:** Originally, this was split into two parts. But since I'm putting these stories up at once, I figured it would just be easier if I combined them.

* * *

Elle turned the radio on. Finding nothing on the preset channels, she went to every other channel. She repeated the process again when she found nothing decent on, on any channel. After the fifth time, Sylar finally reached over and turned the radio off. Elle glared at him, but said nothing.

Then, she put her arm on the armrest, and tapped her fingers, one by one, from left to right, a few times. Luke, however, quickly put a stop to that.

"Elle, I swear to God, if you don't stop that..." he warned.

"Did you just threaten me?" She turned to Gabriel. "I'm pretty sure he just threatened me."

"Luke," Sylar said, glaring at the kid through his mirror. "I told you not to threaten her."

"But she was being annoying!"

"And you're not?" Elle asked back.

"Elle..." Gabriel warned. He pulled into a hotel parking lot, then turned to his bickering companions.

"Now, listen. I'm going to rent two motel rooms, Luke. You are not to leave yours unless I tell you to. Understood?" Luke nodded, then Sylar continued. "You two are going to stay here while I go talk to the people at the front desk."

"Luke," Elle whined a few minutes later. "Entertain me."

"Um, no?"

"But Lukie!" Elle turned in her seat so she was facing him.

"If you ever call me that again..."

"Oh! There you go again, Lukie. Threatening me. Gabriel's not going to like that."

"I wish he'd just killed you on that beach."

"Well, he didn't. He couldn't do it because he loves me too much."

Not that Elle would ever let anyone know it, but Luke's last statement hurt. All of her life, people had treated her that way. No one ever wanted her around. But when she teamed up with Gabriel again, no one dared treat her like that, in fear that Sylar would take them apart. He probably would, if Elle asked him to. Then Luke came along. And he was an asshole to her.

Elle spun back, so she was sitting correctly in her seat.

Luke, who could tell that his comment stung, tried again.

"Why don't you just leave, Elle? It's obvious he doesn't want you here, and I certainly don't."

Elle's eyes narrowed, tearing up slightly. _"What the hell?"_ she thought, _"How can this kid make me cry? Bennet, my father, the doctors, even Sylar when he tried to kill me, none of them made me cry."_

"Fine," Elle said, grabbing her jacket, "have it your way." She slammed the car door and walked into the lobby, looking for Sylar. After a few minutes, she spotted him coming out of one of the elevators.

Elle ran to him, almost knocking him over when she clung to him. After he collected himself, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling her away enough to look at her face.

She pushed herself back into his body and mumbled, "I hate that kid."

"Why? What'd he do?" Gabriel gently stroked her back, hoping to comfort her. If Luke wasn't so vital to Gabriel's plans, the kid would be dead.

"He said you didn't want me here, and that's why you killed me."

"Elle, I'm sorry I tried to kill you. But I already explained this to you. I love you. Which makes you my weakness. And that means when people want to come after me, to kill me, they're going to try to take you. Maybe even try to hurt you. And you don't deserve that," he said quietly.

Elle smiled and pulled away enough to kiss him soundly. "I love you too."

Gabriel handed her a plastic card labeled B-12 and a few dollars. "That shop over there," he pointed to the left of then entrance, "has a Slush-o machine. We'll meet-" he began. Elle however, had already made her way to the store. Gabriel smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

"Luke!" Sylar pounded on his car door. Luke got out and leaned against said door.

"You rang?"

Sylar handed him a key-card, sticking the second one in his pocket. "Room B-14."

"Sweet!" Luke said. He walked into the building and Sylar followed behind.

"Look," Luke pointed, "there's Electra-Girl."

Sylar hit him over the head. "Stop that."

Luke shrugged and rubbed where his head was hit. Elle spotted the two of them, and joined them quickly, jumbo-sized Slush-o in her hands.

Luke rolled his eyes and kept walking toward the elevator. Gabriel smiled and kissed Elle on the head. She snuck an arm around him, then they followed Luke into the elevator.

After making sure Luke was thoroughly entertained in his room - Gabriel had set it up so he had a Playstation 2 and a few fighting games - Gabriel and Elle went to their own room. Elle immediately plopped down on their bed, a smile on her face.

"Now this" - emphasis on this - "is comfy."

Gabriel carried in their single suitcase - filled with clothes and other necessities, most of which was stolen borrowed - then laid next to Elle. She turned on her side to curl into him.

"I'm so tired," she said. A yawn followed shortly after.

"Take a nap," Gabriel suggested, "I need to figure out what we're going to do anyway." He tried to get up from the bed, but Elle pulled him back down.

"Stay here. I can't sleep without you."

Gabriel smiled at her antics. "Let me get a map and some paper first, okay? I'll be right back."

Elle nodded and rolled off of him, so he could get up. When he did, she rolled back onto his pillow. It smelled better than hers.

He came back to their room ten minutes later. He had a map, paper, pens, and chocolate - all lifted from the hotel gift shop. He'd also checked on Luke, who was too engrossed in his video game to even notice.

"Elle?" he called. She was curled on her side, on his pillow, with one hand on her head, and one over her partially exposed stomach. He smiled at the sight. Quietly, Gabriel set his things on his nightstand and crawled into bed next to Elle.

"Gabriel?" she asked sleepily.

"Ssssh," he quieted her. "Go back to sleep, Love."

"Okay," Elle mumbled. She adjusted her position so it was more comfortable for both of them.

Gabriel smiled and went back to work on his plans.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After Elle was thoroughly rested and new plans had been made, Gabriel gathered up all their things. Elle was sent to Luke's room to take care of him.

Using Gabriel's key, she entered Luke's room without a knock. He was sleeping on the foot of his bed, surrounded by candy wrappers of all sorts. The results of his last game were splayed across the tiny television screen.

Elle smiled at him. For all the grief he caused her, Luke really was a cute kid.

She padded softly across the carpeted floor, and picked the wrappers up from the floor. She moved to the bench at the end of the bed next, then to the actual bed. Gently, Elle shifted Luke so a more comfortable position and retrieved the wrappers from underneath him. She threw them out in the hotel's garbage, then moved on to the Playstation. Elle ejected and put away the disc, wrapped all the cords up, and turned the television off.

Elle looked over at Luke before making her way out of the door. "Our little friend was tired too," she said to Gabriel once she was back in their room.

"Did you wake him up?" He called from the bathroom.

"No. Knowing you and your plans, Luke's gonna need all the sleep he can get."

"Hey!" Gabriel said, playfully tossing a towel at her.

She picked it off of it's spot on the floor and brought it back over to him. Much to Elle's disappointment, he was already partially dressed - pants, but no shirt - from his shower. His wet hair hung into his eyes from the lack of gel. From her spot in the bathroom doorway, Elle admired his perfect body.

Gabriel smiled when he noticed. "Like what you see?"

Grinning devilishly, Elle ran her bottom lip through her teeth. She sauntered to him before answering, "I've seen better." Before he could respond, she went to work nibbling on his ear.

"Elle, we, uh," he tried to protest.

"Kid's sleeping. We've got time." Elle moved on to kiss his neck, sending small sparks of electricity as she went.

Rational thought nearly gone, Gabriel picked her up and brought her to their bed.

A few hours later, the fully-rested Luke and the worn-out Gabriel and Elle left the hotel, heading for Northern Pennsylvania. They were currently in Southern PA. Luke had finally told them where they were going - Buffalo, New York. They were going to stay in a hotel in North PA before making their way to Buffalo.

This time, Elle was smart enough to take Luke into the store before they left. His complaining had seriously pissed her off the last time. He got a few candy bars and a couple of bottles of Mountain Dew, with the warning that "If you have to piss, you're doing it on the side of the road." Elle, once again, got a jumbo-sized cherry red Slush-o. She also got a sub and water for later. Elle bought Gabriel his favorite drink - iced grande Caramel Macchiato - and a hoodie. Elle had lived near Buffalo, for a little while. And it could get cold at this time of year, so she wanted to be prepared. (The hoodie was really for her, and she fully intended on taking it from Gabriel once she deemed that it smelled like him.)

As a result of their shopping spree, Elle and Luke were civil to one another. Luke, as promised, got to go on the side of the road. When Gabriel pulled into a rest stop for Elle, he got an earful.

"What the hell, man? Do you know how cold it is out there? Why the hell would you stop for her and not me?"

Sylar shrugged and said, "I like her better."

"Geez, thanks," Luke groaned. "The least you could do is buy me lunch," he tried.

Sylar rolled his eyes. "You shoulda picked something out at the hotel."

"What about you? You're not gonna eat?"

"There's no way Elle's gonna eat her entire sub. I'll eat what she doesn't."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? I've seen the way that chick eats."

"Watch it, kid. 'That chick' is my girlfriend."

"I'm just saying. She's gonna finish that sub."

"Don't count on it."

"Let's make a deal."

Sylar turned to him, amused. "Okay."

"If she eats the whole thing, you owe me lunch."

"And if she doesn't?"

"I owe you ten bucks."

Sylar thought about it for a second. "You're on," he nodded.

The three of them hopped back into the car and made their way upstate.

Elle began to munch on her sub near one o'clock, and Luke watched with bated breath. When she finished the final bite, Luke cheered triumphantly and Gabriel huffed.

"Am I missing something?" she asked, confused.

Gabriel huffed again, and rolled his eyes. "We have to make a pit stop for food."

"We could of gotten food the last time we stopped," she reasoned, "Are you sure you wanna do that again?"

"We made a bet on if you'd finish your sub or not. I won," Luke cheered.

"You're pushing it, kid, you're pushing it." Sylar glared back at him as he pulled into the rest stop.

Elle raised an incredulous eyebrow. "You made a bet on how much I'd eat?" she screeched.

"This is why we don't make bets," Sylar reminded himself.

"Who bet what?"

"Well, uh," Luke said, "he bet that you wouldn't finish it."

Elle turned to Gabriel with a smile. "You're so sweet," she said, running a hand down his face.

She turned to Luke, anger written all over her face. "Which means you bet that I'd finish it."

Luke nodded.

"So, what? You think I'm fat?"

"No! Not at all! I-uh, I just have been with you when you've eaten lunch before."

"So, you're saying I eat a lot?"

"No! I, um." Luke looked to Gabriel, pleading for help.

"You're on your own, kid," he said with a grin.

"I'm sorry, Elle," Luke tried. "I wasn't trying to insinuate anything, honestly."

Elle nodded in acceptance. "Let's get you your food."

Within twenty minutes, they were back on the road. Luke was content with his Happy Meal, and Gabriel was pretty giddy with his slice of apple pie. (It was his second favorite, behind peach.) Elle was just as happy about her Mickie D's chocolate milkshake.

They got to the hotel around seven, with no further stops.

Elle made the room arrangements this time, leaving Sylar with Luke in the car.

"I wonder if she's pregnant," Luke said suddenly.

Sylar turned to him. "Let's not joke about that."

"I'm not joking! It would explain a lot. Her hunger, her tiredness, her moods."

"You know that talking thing you're doing? Stop that."

Comprehension dawned on Luke. "You're thinking it too!"

"Shut up."

"And you're scared of it, aren't you? Cause you think she is pregnant and you're not ready to be a Dad."

"You do remember that I'm a serial killer, right?" Sylar questioned.

Luke brushed it off. "If you wanted to kill me, you would've done it already."

Sylar shrugged. "True enough."

Luke looked through the front window. "Look," he said, pointing to the entrance, "here comes your baby mama now."

"I swear to God, Luke, if you mention even the tiniest bit of this conversation to her, you'll be missing a limb next time you wake up."

He mimed locking his mouth and throwing away the key.

"C'mon, boys," Elle called. "I'm tired!"

Luke laughed silently as he followed Sylar into the hotel. Oh, life just got ten times more fun.


	26. If She Only Knew

******Title:** If She Only Knew  
******Author:** emily64cooper  
******Rating:** PG  
******Pairing/Characters:** Gabriel/Elle, Virginia, Bob  
******Prompt:** #26: We makes sense.  
******Summary:** "What do you even see in her?" "I see everything in her."

* * *

Gabriel ran a hand through his dark hair. He and Elle were waiting on his mother's door step. And he'd never been more nervous.

"Hey," Elle said, grabbing his arm gently. "You don't need to be so scared. The worst she can do is not like me."

"You say that now, Elle, just wait until we get in there. She can be vicious."

"Well, then, it's a good thing we brought chocolate pie, isn't it? Who doesn't like chocolate pie." In truth, Elle was quite nervous. And she hated chocolate pie.

"Oh thank you Lord, for bringing my Gabriel home safe," Virginia Gray said, opening her apartment door to hug her son. She was so happy to see Gabriel, she didn't notice Elle standing to the side of him.

"Oh, look at you." She ran a hand over Gabriel's face.

Slightly put-off by Virginia ignoring her, Elle cleared her throat.

"Hi Mom. This is Elle," Gabriel said, pulling away. Virginia looked her over and immediately decided she didn't like this girl.

Virginia tilted her head slightly to the side. "You could do better."

"Let's not do this now, Mom, okay?"

"You're right, Gabriel. Where are my manners? I'm sorry, Elle." Virginia faked a smile.

Elle responded with a fake smile of her own. "It's okay, Mrs. Gray."

She led them inside, saying "If I had know you were coming, I would have straightened up more."

Elle looked around the tiny apartment. Much larger than the room she had at the company, but made smaller by the mounds of snow globes on along the wall.

Gabriel smiled at his mother. Inwardly, Elle rolled her eyes. If Virginia only knew that her son was Sylar, the brutal serial killer. If she only knew.

"Um, we, um, brought this. From Texas. For your collection." Virginia pulled the globe from its cardboard box, and rolled it around, interrupting Gabriel's speech. Like she was better than him. _'Hardly,'_ Elle thought.

"It's perfect!" Virginia exclaimed, rolling the thing around, handling it like it was a gift from God himself.

"One more and I have the continent." Snow globes from the entire continent. "_Really? These must have cost a fortune. Not that I'd care, because Daddy's got his Midas touch, and we don't need to worry about money, but. That's just a dumb collection."_ Elle suddenly wished she had gum.

"I'm only missing Oregon. I hear it's beautiful there." While she spoke, Gabriel looked around a bit.

"What?" Elle whispered.

"Nothing, I just... nevermind," Gabriel whispered back.

Elle looked over to Virginia, then back to Gabriel.

"Gabriel," she said sternly. "I'm an agent. If something's going on, I need to know."

"Nothing, I just felt like someone was here. But I don't hear anything. So they're not."

Elle glanced at him and pursed her lips, annoyed.

"Green everywhere," Virginia murmured. It reminded Elle of a song from "Little Shop of Horrors", which was one of the few videos she got to watch as a child. It had quickly become her favorite.

Elle watched Virginia from the corner of her eye, her attention focused on Gabriel.

"Your clock's broken." _Shit. He can not be allowed to use his powers._

"Oh, that old thing? I should have thrown it out years ago."

Elle walked over to Gabriel, and steered him toward the kitchen area. "Why don't we break out the pie? I'm starving."

"Yeah, me too," Virginia said. She grabbed Elle by the arm and threw her down on the couch.

"Gabriel, would you like to help me?" Virginia eyed her son.

"It's just pie. Can't-"

"Now, Gabriel."

"Um, sure." Gabriel walked past Elle, ruffling her hair a bit before following his mother to the kitchen.

Elle smiled and fixed it as they disappeared behind the counter.

"Gabriel," Virginia said, cutting at the pie like an enemy, "I don't like this girl."

Elle leaned closer to the kitchen so she could hear better.

"Mom, I do. She's a nice girl. I'm asking her to go away with me."

Virginia chopped a little harder.

"What do you even see in her? She's so... plain. She's not good enough for you."

"I see..." Gabriel hadn't been sure himself, until that very moment, "I see everything in her. My past, my present, and if she'll let me, maybe even my future. And Elle is certainly good enough for me. I just don't think I'm good enough for her."

Elle was a little surprised by this. A future with Gabriel? Now, there's something Elle hadn't thought about in a while.

"You are more than good enough for her. I don't even understand why you want to be with her." Virginia slammed her cutting utensils on the counter. _Did they forget I was there? __  
_  
"We make sense, Mother. I could love her."

Virginia scoffed.

"And we're both so... special."

Elle's head snapped to Gabriel's. She recognized that tone of voice. And it didn't bode well for Virginia.

That word. Special. That's when Sylar would start to scome out.

She watched as Gabriel took his mother's hands. "I have something to show you."

Elle moved behind Gabriel, watching as he turned his mother's living room into a snow globe. She placed a hand on his back as an attempt to clam the storm brewing within.

Suddenly, Gabriel turned to Elle, a desperate look in his eye.

"Get out. Get out now. I can't fight it anymore."

Elle did as told. She quickly gathered her things, ignoring the spinning woman in the living room, and made her way back to Gabriel.

"Find me," Elle said, running a hand across his face, "And I'll run with you."

He only nodded, fixing his attention on the fight against the hunger.

With a sigh, for Elle knew that it was the second time she had lost Gabriel to Sylar, Elle stepped out of the apartment. As she leaned against the older woman's front door, she could hear Virginia's cry, then her angry accusations. Elle purposely knocked her head against the wood a few times, then walked off. One thing Gabriel said kept ringing in her head - _"We make sense. I could love her."_

"You're right, Gabriel," Elle said, making her way down the hallway. "We do make sense. Because we could love each other. Because we're special. Because soon, we'll both be without Mothers, by our own doing."

Elle stepped outside, the night air cutting through her like a knife.

"Because we're both killers. And neither of us mind."

She hailed a taxi, arriving at Primatech late at night, with a new spring of purpose in her step.

Elle was going to kill Sylar. Kill him for killing the life she could have had with Gabriel.

And she was going to enjoy it.


	27. You're Next

******Title:** You're Next  
******Author:** emily64cooper  
**Rating:** PG-13  
******Pairing/Characters:** Gabriel/Elle, Noah, HRG  
******Prompt:** # 27: (Phone Call) You want me? Come and get me.  
******Summary:** She should have known better than to trust a monster with her son.

* * *

She should have known better.

Should have known better than to trust a monster with her son.

But he hadn't been a monster the whole time.

Had he?

No, he hadn't. Because he was Gabriel when he found out.

They were so happy then. Both a little scared, but completely, utterly **_happy_**_._

And then Noah came. The middle of the night, on a stormy May 9th, 2007. Elle was in so much pain, but Gabriel was there, holding her hand for the entire thirty-three hours. Tears rolled down both their faces as the happy parents held their son, Noah Gray - named solely to spite old Glasses, who was the only one who showed up to see the boy.

In the back of her mind, Elle was always slightly concerned about Sylar coming out and hurting Noah. But she figured Gabriel had more than proven himself to her and Noah, and she didn't need to put him through anymore pain.

Whenever she looked at Noah and Gabriel, she hoped beyond hope that their lives could stay this happy, this normal, forever.

And they did. For a while, at least.

Elle and Gabriel Gray celebrated four birthdays with their son. They almost made it to a fifth.

Almost.

Elle was away that day. Gabriel and Noah had been home alone together many times before, why would this time be any different?

But it was. Because Noah Gray developed an ability. Muscle Mimicry.

An ability Sylar didn't have. And he wanted.

So badly.

Elle came home late the next day. Her shopping bags dropped to the floor when she saw her home. The front room was completely torn apart, a circular blood trail leading into the next room and up the stairs. Two sets of footprints, one very small, one large, were visible in the trail. She followed the prints until she reached Noah's bedroom.

Scared for her son, Elle pushed the door open.

And saw nothing. She breathed a sigh of relief and she made her way into her bedroom, ready to crash.

That's when Elle saw him. Her son, her Noah.

With a bloody, red line across his forehead.

She collapsed on the spot.

Slowly, Elle crawled to her son. Sobs escaped when she checked for a pulse.

And felt none.

So Elle sat there, just cradling her dead son's body, for a long time.

Elle Gray died that day.

Because Gabriel. No. Not Gabriel. Sylar. Sylar had killed their son, leaving only one thing left for her - a note, written on their bedroom wall, in their son's blood. It simply stated: "You're next."

After that, Elle reverted back to her old, sociopath ways. If Sylar was allowed to, why wasn't she?

She trained everyday, preparing for her meeting with Sylar, Noah's happy smiles the only thing on her mind.

Elle pushed herself miles further than her father had ever attempted. Because now, she had a purpose - to kill.

Finally, two years after the incident - Elle never spoke of her son's death to anyone, not even herself - she was ready. To take revenge for her Noah.

She initiated battle with a simple phone call.

"You want me? Come and get me."

And she hoped against all hopes that Sylar would finally kill her.

Because Elle Bishop was ready to see her son again.


	28. Grasping At Uncertainty

******Title:** Grasping At Uncertainty  
******Author:** emily64cooper  
******Prompt:** #28: It's just you and me against the world.  
******Characters/Pairing:** Gabriel/Elle  
******Summary:** All they've ever wanted was a normal life. All past attempts have failed. But not this one. Because now, they have a plan.

* * *

"Do you think they'll ever find out?" Elle asked, looking out over the ocean.

"I certainly hope not," Gabriel said. He walked out on to the back porch and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder.

Faking their deaths was hard work, and the couple reveled in their precious alone time.

Elle smiled and turned to kiss him.

"Just you and me." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Against the world."

Gabriel smiled and kissed her again.

"The world's a pretty big place," he said.

Elle looked down, uncertain, before she met his gaze once again.

"We can do it, right?"

It was a question Gabriel had spent a good while pondering. He'd thought about it every night of his quest for power, every spare moment at Primatech. Even on his way back to Elle, he hadn't been sure if their plan for a normal life would work.

But then he saw her, and he knew somehow, that everything would be alright. That they'd get their chance. All because they grasped it. They were brave enough to grasp at uncertainty, so somehow, they'd get wanted they wanted.

"Yeah," he said, pulling Elle closer. "We can do it."


	29. Monster

******Title:** Monster  
******Author:** emily64cooper  
******Rating:** Pg-13  
******Characters/Pairing:** Sylar/Elle, Little Noah  
******Prompt:** 29. Author's Choice  
******Summary:** A songfic to "Monster" by The Meg and Dia Band. It explores a darker side of Sylar and Elle's relationship. It's not necessary, but the piece would be enhanced if you listened to the song while reading it. You can easily find it on youtube, but I can send you a link, if you'd like.

* * *

**_His little whispers_**

Noah was forced to watch this time. Usually, his father excused him before he tried to beat up Noah's mother. He inhaled sharply from his spot behind the stair railing as his Daddy flung his mommy through the air. And he didn't even have to tough her.

"Mommy," he whispered, a tear falling down his cheek. The five year old wiped away quickly. Daddy wanted his little boy to be strong.

_**"Love Me. Love Me."**_

"Why don't you love me, Gabriel? You were supposed to love me!" Elle screeched, pushing herself up off the floor.

Gabriel simply shook his head.

Noah wondered similar things from his spot on the stairs, but wisely kept his mouth shut. He watched as his mother was flung through the air again.

_**That's all I ask for. **__  
_  
"That's all I want, Gabriel!" Elle said, flinging a strand of electricity at him.

He frowned back at her, "maybe it is. I don't particularly care."

Noah's head tilted to the side in confusion. Since when could Mommy do that?

"And that boy of your's-" Sylar had recently that he didn't want a son, and so, in his mind, he no longer had one- "I don't give a damn about him either."

_**"Love Me. Love Me."**_**  
**  
"You don't love me, Dad?" Noah questioned, moving to stand.

"Noah! Go back to your room, quickly!" Elle yelled, fear evident in her eyes. She flung another jolt of electricity at Gabriel, as strong as she could muster, hoping to distract him.

Instead of complying as he should have, Noah continued standing.

"No, Noah, I don't," Sylar sneered, turning to the boy.

Noah's anger increased as his father sent his own electricity back to Elle, damaging her left arm.

_**He battered his tiny fists to feel something.**_

He briefly wondered why the only thing he felt was anger as Elle screamed. But Noah knew what he had to do.

Quietly, he ducked behind the couch, like he used to when they played hide and seek. Noah swiftly dashed to the dining room and hid behind the wall, so Gabriel's back was facing him.

Noah pounded his tiny fists on his father's back. With each blow, he said a word, "Stop. Hurting. My. Mommy."

_**Wondered what it's like to touch and feel something.**_

Gabriel turned around, to face Noah. "I suggest you stop that, kid," he said.

"Noah, please! Go back upstairs!" Elle pleaded. She would have gone to her son, but Gabriel was keeping her pinned against the wall.

"No!" Noah screamed. He continued pounding his father, this time, going for the chest. "Don't hurt Mommy!"

"Oh, Noah," Gabriel said condescendingly, "I always thought you were a smart boy. Turns out I was wrong."

He raised his fingers, as he had down so many times before. That was Sylar's mistake.

Elle fell to the floor, and being very careful not to hit Noah, she electrocuted the monster with everything she could muster.

_**Monster.**_**  
**  
She ushered Noah upstairs, and this time, he didn't hesitate.

"You're a monster, you know that?" she asked Gabriel as his body pulled itself back together.

She zapped him again, before he could fully regenerate.

"What happened to you?"

_**How should I feel?**_

Elle allowed Gabriel the time to regenerate.

"I used to love you, Gabriel. Do you remember?" Her only response was a grunt.

"And you used to love us. Me and Noah. I know you remember that." She was trying desperately to get him to say how he felt, so she could know how to feel.

Sylar glared at her. "I was using you."

"For what?"

His eyebrows raised suggestively. "What do you think?"

_**Creatures lie here. **_**  
**  
Elle swallowed down her fear of the creature before her.

"And Noah, your son, what were you using him for?"

"To get to you."

She ran her teeth over her lip. "So, you'll let him go?"

"Now, I never said that."

_**Looking through the window... **_

"You're done asking questions now, Ellie," Sylar said menacingly.

"But-" Elle protested. She clamped her mouth shut immediately, aware of her mistake.

"I said," Sylar growled, moving next to her, "you were done asking questions. Understood?"

Elle nodded.

"Good. Now go fix me dinner."

Elle nodded again. She dashed to kitchen and closed the door, then sank down, leaning on it. What had she done to deserve this?

Gabriel used to love them, used to be happy.

Now, he was just a monster.


	30. Resignation to Fate

******Title: **Resignation to Fate******  
Rating:** PG-13  
******Pairing/Characters:** Elle/Gabriel, Matt, Daphne, Angela, Peter. Cameos from Jack and Rose (Titanic) and Joanie and Chachi (Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi).  
******Prompt:** 30. Author's Choice. ( I have now completed the prompt table!)  
******Summary:** Elle and Gabriel share a night together.  
******A/N:** So, for my final prompt, I wanted to write something epic. What came out, was this. Not exactly epic, but it'll do. I also wasn't sure what type of fic to make this, so I tried to include a little bit of eveything. I hope it comes across that way. Titanic is my all-time favorite movie ever, hence the reference. The Happy Days references stemmed from my seeing the show at our local theater. And then watching the episodes on youtube. Which is when I decided that Joanie and Chachi are the best characters (besides Fonzie) on that show. Joanie Loves Chachi was the name of their spin-off.

* * *

"You've, you haven't..." Elle stammers out, completely dumbfounded.

"No, Elle," Gabriel chuckles. "I've never seen Titanic."

"But it's a classic!"

"I'd hardly call 1994, was it?" His eyebrows scrunch together. "Sounds right. Anyway, I'd hardly call 1994 classic."

"But it takes place in 1912. And, therefore, can be considered classic."

"Fine. It's a classic. A classic that I've never seen."

"But you were a nerd! Sweet, but a nerd!" Elle said, then thought better of it. "Then again, you wouldn't have seen that movie. You wouldn't have had anyone to go with."

Sylar tears his eyes away from the road, grinning. "That's cold, Elle."

She shrugs slightly, her smile matching his in radiance. "I try."

"Gabriel!" Elle screeches, pointing to the road. He swerves just in time to avoid hitting another car. "Watch the road!"

"I am. He must be drunk or something," Sylar says. He almost flinches at how weak that sounds.

"Maybe you're a little drunk," Elle mutters, turning to look out her window.

Gabriel huffs and keeps his eyes on the road ahead.

Fifteen minutes later, after having turned the radio on and off three times, Elle turns to her companion.

"Gabriel," she says quietly. Elle is unsure if she should do this, but forges ahead anyway. The worst he could do would be to kill her again (he brought her back last time with his blood, and apologized profusely, after which, Elle slowly forgave him).

His eyes meet her's quickly. "Yeah?" he asks.

"Um, that day, on the beach, when I flinched... is that what made you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Kill me."

Gabriel pauses, not sure what to say, do, or think. "Um, sort of."

"What do you mean?"

He pulls into a motel parking lot. "Let's get settled in, then we can talk about this, okay?"

Elle smiles and nods, disappointed. "Sure."

She waits for Gabriel to come back and get her, then allows him to lead her to their room. They get settled in, moving the tiny amount of items they've acquired to the tiny room they'll be staying in, then plop down on the bed and begin to watch television. That's when Gabriel starts talking.

He turns to her, laying on his side, and takes her hand in his. "Elle," he says softly, massaging the hand with his thumbs.

Elle looks to him, anxiety written plainly on her face.

"I'm not proud of what I did, Elle. You know that." She nods as he locks their fingers together.

"I let what Bennet said to you get to my head. It was filled with different scenarios of the many ways you could be using or manipulating me again. Quite a few revolved around you working with Angela, pretending to be in love with me, just to bring me down. When you flinched, it proved everything going through my mind, and I couldn't handle it. I'm so sorry, Elle."

"It's alright, Gabriel," Elle smiles softly as she kisses him. "I forgave you a long time ago."

"I picked up something for you. Well, for me, really, but you'll like it more than I will."

"You did? Something kinky I hope," she grins devilishly.

He smiles back to her and produces a plastic bag from the nightstand.

"I've heard that about this."

She takes the bag quickly and empties it out on the bed. It's the Titanic DVD and three giant -sized bags of M&M's, Elle's favorite candy.

"Eeek!" She screams. Forgetting Gabriel, Elle rushes to the television and pops the movie in. She dashes back to the bed, remote in hand, and rips open the first bag of M&M's.

By then end of the movie, Elle has tears running down her face and pooling in the three empty bags of candy. Gabriel has a tear in his eye as well.

"What'd you think?" Elle turns to him, wiping away at her eyes.

"I think we're gonna go have to see Revolutionary Road now."

They laugh together for a while, until Elle rolls on top of him. "Wanna practice that car scene, except, in, I don't know, a bed?"

Gabriel nods ferociously, and they both begin ripping their clothes off.

After their two rendezvous, Gabriel falls asleep. Elle does too, but wakes up around midnight. She grabs the remote from her bedside table, and turns to T.V. Land, the only channel that plays anything worth watching during the very late and very early hours of the day. She used to watch a lot of it as child, unable to sleep off the tests.

She catches the beginning of an episode of Happy Days, the one she recognizes as the Series finale, titled "Passages". This was always her favorite episode. Elle has always wished to find a relationship as perfect as Joanie and Chachi's. They'd had their ups and downs, but they managed to work all of it out in the end. Not many others thought of them as the perfect couple - they were, after all, two teenagers - but as Elle looks at Gabriel, she can't help but wish they'd had their time to be Joanie and Chachi.

Elle giggles quietly at something said in the show, then glances at her clothes, lying haphazardly on the floor, and notices the vibration coming from her pants pocket. She gets out of the bed slowly, as not to disturb Gabriel, and makes her way to the phone. Elle doesn't bother to take the sheet with her, she's never cared about being naked before, and she's certainly not gonna start now.

"Hello?" She asks quietly. Elle already knows who's on the other line.

"Have you done it yet?"

She sighs. "No, not yet."

"We are running out of time here, Elle."

"I know."

"Either you do it tonight, or someone else will do it for you."

"I know, I just-" Elle looks over to Gabriel.

"You remember who you're doing this for, Elle? Your son, the one you're carrying right now."

"I know," Elle sighs again. She hangs up the phone and makes her way back to Gabriel. Before getting in bed, she grabs the gun from her purse and places it on her bed stand. She throws her clothes on and packs up the rest of her things.

"Hey," she says quietly, curling her body around Gabriel's larger one.

"Elle?" Gabriel asks hoarsely. "It's late, go back to sleep."

Elle entwines their hands. "I love you. You know that, right?"

He turns to face her and smiles. "I love you too. Now go back to sleep."

"Okay," she nods. She kisses him passionately, then spoons herself into his chest, watching as Gabriel slowly falls asleep. Elle's other hand inches the gun closer with each heavy droop of his eyelids.

Gabriel turns in his sleep, now facing the opposite direction from her.

Elle's hand raises the gun shakily. She places her free hand on her stomach, and whispers, "I'm sorry, Baby," over, and over, and over again. She doesn't know who she's apologising to: Gabriel, for killing him, or their son, for killing his chance at meeting his father. Elle has the sudden thought that even though she and Gabriel were not like Jack and Rose or Joanie and Chachi, they were close. And, as Joanie Loved Chachi, Elle loved Gabriel.

But Elle has to do this, and she knows it.

She blinks back tears and is resigned to her fate.

As a gunshot is heard, deep in the night, a young blonde woman leaves a motel, getting into a car with a heavyset, dark-haired man and a petite blonde-haired woman.

"Angela wants us to meet her and Peter in New York," the man says, obviously uncomfortable with the meeting.

Elle simply nods.

"You ready, Elle?" The small one asks, a comforting tone in her voice.

She wipes at her eyes, a hand on her stomach.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Thank you guys so much for your wonderful reviews. I'm so sorry it took me this long to get it all up, but here it is! I couldn't have done it without you.


End file.
